In partnership with Hull Truck, this year's Freedom Festival will feature limited capacity shows that are not to be missed!
The Torch
The Torch is a 60-minute surge of gig-theatre in which rapper-composer Kobby Taylor unpacks his relationship with his grandfather, Afrobeat legend Ebo Taylor. Kobby’s verses weave through exclusive, remixes of Ebo classics, with live synths from Vivek Santosh—fresh from sharing stages with multi-Grammy-winning composer Michael League, the creative engine behind Snarky Puppy—while harpist Stephanie Halsy flips shimmering strings into modern afro beat sounds. Each scene is a track: dialogue slips into 16-bar couplets, harp harmonics collide with prophet and Moog synths.
Kobby proved the power of rap-drama fusion as co-composer and performer in the multi-award-winning The Canary and The Crow; here, teamed with Santosh’s boundary-pushing sound design and Halsy’s genre-defying technique, he drives the form further by letting the music carry the narrative moment-to-moment. The result is part mixtape, part confessional, all performed live with the spontaneity of an improvising band. The Torch was developed with funding from Hull Jazz Festival and premiered to a sold-out house at Hull Truck Theatre, who partner with us on this year's Freedom Festival.
Buy Tickets NowThe Night of The Werewolves: LIVE
The Night of the Werewolves Live is an interactive comedy horror show where audiences will have to work out, accuse, and brutally murder fellow audience members to determine who among them is a werewolf... hopefully.
Based on the cult-classic game Werewolves and the TV show The Traitors, this show is filled with all the classic elements of a great night out: betrayal, mob rule, and macabre murders.
How it works: All audience members will be given a role: villagers try to find and stop the werewolves; werewolves pretend to be innocent and then secretly devour the villagers at night.
The Genesis - Copenhagen Collective
Experience the breathtaking journey of The Genesis, a one hour contemporary circus spectacle by the Copenhagen Collective that explores the depths
of human connection, resilience, and the power of unity. On stage, seventeen world-class artists conjure stunning
visual poetry through intricate group formations and feats that defy the limits of human movement and emotion. Challenging
conventions with powerful female bases and gravity-defying male flyers, The Genesis celebrates the beauty of diversity in
physicality, heritage, and artistic expression.
The atmosphere of The Genesis is richly enhanced by a lighting design that evokes both the grandeur of a cathedral and the vibrant pulse of nightlife, intimately embracing and
celebrating the performers. An original soundscape envelops The Genesis, where the elegance of classical strings and piano intertwines with the raw emotion of acoustic sounds and
voices. Witness the fusion of global artistry as the Copenhagen Collective takes the stage. Seventeen extraordinary acrobats,
hailing from diverse nations and cultures, converge to redefine contemporary circus. Forged in disparate traditions and
mastering a spectrum of techniques, their signature style ignites their shows, blending methods from South America, Europe, Canada, and Australia. Prepare for a truly unique
acrobatic experience.
Freedom Festival 2025
The rest of Freedom Festival is completely free to access.
Explore the full lineup