*Our PERFORMERS*

*2025*

HUGE DAVIES

Huge debuted his first show ‘The Carpark’ at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019. A complete sell-out, it received multiple five-star reviews and an Edinburgh Award Nomination for Best Newcomer. The show was featured as Time Out’s No.1 comedy show to see, had three runs at the Soho Theatre following excessive demand and filmed as a special by LA based company 800 Pound Gorilla Media. His second show ‘Whodunnit’ and third ‘Album 4 My Ancestors (dead)’ were also fully sold out, received multiple five star reviews and is currently on a national tour. Huge appears on television frequently, including his own Channel 4 sitcom ‘The Artists’ which he created, wrote and starred in. 

MArk Thomas

Mark has been performing comedy for 35 years. He has written 5 books and four playscripts, curated and authored two art exhibitions - with artist Tracey Moberly - has won eight awards for performing, - three for human rights work and on he invented for himself - has taken the police to court 3 times and has won twice, and made six series of the Mark Thomas Comedy Product for Channel 4.

He has also made three ‘Dispatches’ for Channel, was commissioned to write one new show for the Royal Opera House, has made five series of the ‘Manifesto’ for Radio 4 and was a Guinness World Record holder for holding 20 protests in 24 hours’

ROSIE HOLT

Rosie Holt is best known for her alter-ego MP whose popular videos on social media have achieved more than 7 million views. She is the winner of the Chortle Social Media Award and a nominee for the BPG Emerging Creators Award. Her last show, That’s Politainment! toured around the UK - “tightly crafted and brutal political satire with Orwellian flourishes” -Evening Standard, 4 stars. Her first book, Why We Were Right; A catalogue of Conservative Successes ( "Hilarious and alarmingly close to the bone” - The New European) written as her MP alter-ego is available to buy in shops now. She has written for Prospect Magazine and The Byline Times.

KATE CHEKA

Kate Cheka is an award-winning comedian, writer and artist. Her debut hour received critical acclaim, a Soho Theatre run and was nominated for NextUp's Biggest Award in Comedy. Other accolades include winner of the Funny Women Awards 2023, regional finalist BBC New Comedy Awards 2022 and Chortle Best Newcomer nominee 2024.

Kevin Ford

Kevin brings a lifetime of leadership, education, and community service to his involvement with Urban Wilderness CIC. Born near Longton and a long-time figure at Central Hall, he has been a supportive presence in the intergenerational and heritage-based elements of the Pig Walk Parade. Kevin’s experience working with young people through the Boys’ Brigade, education, and STEM outreach aligns with Urban Wilderness’s mission to embed living heritage and grassroots participation in public events that empower and unite the community.  

Laila Woozeer

Laila Woozeer is an award-winning writer, musician and performer based in London.Laila has performed and composed for Future Cinema; BBC; Marie Claire; Barbican; Queen Elizabeth’s Hall and written for The Guardian, Mashable, Buzzfeed, Stylist, Metro, and gal-dem among others. Laila’s book Not Quite White, a magical realism memoir about being mixed race, was released 2022 (Simon and Schuster).

HARDEEP MATHARU

Hardeep Matharu is a journalist, writer, and speaker. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Byline Times – the independent investigative news site and monthly print newspaper covering ‘what the papers don’t say’. Her work focuses on the forces that shape us: identities, politics, culture, the media. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a John Schofield Trust Senior Fellow. Hardeep sits on the board of the ‘Values in the Media’ project established by the Common Cause Foundation. She is a judge of the annual Orwell Society/NUJ Young Journalists Award.

Hook UP Culture & THE FUCKAROUND FIVE

The Hook Up Culture house band are an ever-evolving entity of some of the most talented, interesting and frankly, hottest, musicians around. FF members have won numerous awards and played with the likes of Cher, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and Mickey Mouse. Studying at Berklee, RCM, Murcia Conservatoire, Guildhall, our crew have performed at Glastonbury, the 02, St Patricks Cathedral NY, Madrid and Barcelona Jazz Festivals, Caesars Palace Las Vegas to name just a few.

Asif Kapadia

Asif Kapadia (born 1972) is a British filmmaker. Kapadia is best known for his trilogy of narratively driven, archive-constructed documentaries Senna, Amy and Diego Maradona. Amy (2015), based on singer Amy Winehouse, had its world premiere at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, and it is the highest-grossing British documentary of all time at the UK box office. Kapadia directed the documentary film Senna (2010), based on Ayrton Senna (famous for his achievements in motor racing), which won multiple awards,

Naz Shah MP

Naseem Shah is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford West since 2015. She served in the Opposition frontbench from 2018 to 2023, most recently as Shadow Minister for Crime Reduction. Before being elected as an MP, Shah was the chair of mental health charity, Sharing Voices Bradford, and had previously worked as a carer for disabled people, as an NHS Commissioner and a director for a regional association supporting local councils. She has campaigned extensively in support of social justice and human rights causes.

Roman Krznaric

Roman Krznaric is a social philosopher who writes about the power of ideas to create change. His internationally bestselling books including The Good Ancestor, Empathy, The Wonderbox and Carpe Diem Regained, have been published in more than 25 languages. He is Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University’s Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing and founder of the world’s first Empathy Museum. His latest book, published in July 2024, is History for Tomorrow: Inspiration from the Past for the Future of Humanity.

Anna Hyde

‭‭Anna Hyde left a successful marketing career to focus on climate and democracy activism. She‬ co-founded Islington Climate Centre, facilitates Climate Fresk workshops, and coordinates for‬ The Climate Reality Project. A Cambridge Sustainability Leadership graduate, she uses creative‬ engagement and deliberative democracy to drive community-led environmental change.‭

Jon Bloomfield

Jon Bloomfield has more than forty years’ experience as policy maker and practitioner engaged with cities and regions in the UK and Europe on the three great issues of our era: social inequality; migration and climate change. From 2009-2021 he was a senior adviser on the EU’s largest climate change programme, Climate KIC. Since 2005 he has been an Honorary research fellow in the School of Public Policy at Birmingham University where he pursues a range of policy interests on European governance; the environment; migration; the role of cities; and national populism.

Kate Raworth

Kate Raworth is an economist focused on making economics fit for the 21st century’s social and ecological realities. She is the author of the best-selling book Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist, which has been published in over 20 languages. She is also co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab, and Senior Teaching Fellow at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute.

Eve Travis

Eve is a multidisciplinary artist and circus performer from Stoke-on-Trent who brings her creative flair to the heart of Longton’s street celebrations. Working closely with Urban Wilderness CIC, Eve co-designed The Florios—flamboyant characters inspired by Victorian floriography and Edwardian fashion, created especially for the Pig Walk Parade. She works across costume, sculpture, clowning and performance, and also facilitates joyful workshops in circus and character work that help shape the parade from the ground up.

Danny Shaw

Danny Shaw is one of the founders of KiLNE, a dynamic nu-marching band formed with Ben Oakes. Combining brass and drums with a philosophy of radical inclusivity, KiLNE has become a sonic centrepiece of the Pig Walk Parade, bringing rhythm, energy and unity to the streets of Longton.

Collaborating with Urban Wilderness CIC, Danny helps bring the spirit of joy and movement into the heart of public celebration, transforming the everyday into the extraordinary. KiLNE’s debut track, (It Goes Like) Nanana, reflects the infectious, communal energy of these street festivals.

Peter Geoghegan

Peter Geoghegan is an Irish writer, broadcaster and journalist. His journalism has appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, the London Review of Books and many other publications. He was openDemocracy‘s UK investigations editor from 2018 to 2021 and was nominated for a 2019 and 2020 British Journalism award and the Paul Foot award in 2019 and 2021 (twice). Peter’s most recent book, the Sunday Times best-selling Democracy for Sale: Dark Money and Dirty Politics, was published in August 2020 by Head of Zeus.

Dawn Butler, MP

Dawn Butler is a British Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament or Brent Central since 2015. Dawn was named the “most promising feminist under 35” by New Statesman magazine and was honoured as MP of the year at the 2009 Women in Public Life Awards. Since returning to Parliament Dawn was awarded two Patchwork Foundation awards, having been voted People’s Choice 2016 Labour MP of the Year and next receiving the Overall MP of the Year award 2017. In 2020 named one of the 25 most influential women in the UK by Vogue.

Urban Wilderness CIC

Urban Wilderness CIC is a women-led community interest company based in Longton, Stoke on Trent. Through radical joy, living heritage and world-class arts, they reimagine public spaces with and for the community. Co-directors Isla Telford, Laurel Gallagher and Jenny Harper produce Longton Carnival and Pig Walk Parade, which brought 30,000 visitors to the town this year. In this panel discussion, they’ll be joined by community members to share how feminist and circular economic principles are transforming a place often associated with decline into one of celebration, creativity and connection. Expect honesty, hope and grassroots energy.    

Mario Theodorou

Mario is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and novelist known for work across comedy and drama. Selected for the BBC Drama Room and named on the BBC’s Hotlist, his credits include BBC Drama, Radio 4, and Sky. His acclaimed short films: Anonymous, Echo, and The Gifted Hypothesis have screened at Oscar, BAFTA, and BIFA-qualifying festivals, winning awards including Best Drama at Cannes Shorts. A BAFTA member Mario is developing several projects and has signed a multi-book publishing deal for his historical fiction series, Felix Grey.

Lisa Blower

Lisa Blower is an award-winning writer and academic hailed by Kit De Waal as the “natural heir to Arnold Bennett”. She is a champion of working-class literature and regional voices, often paying homage to The Potteries where she grew up. She's the author of two novels, Sitting Ducks (Fair Acre Press, 2016) - shortlisted for The Rubery Award, the Arnold Bennett Prize and The Guardian's Not the Booker - and Pondweed (Myriad Editions, 2020). Her collection of short stories It's Gone Dark over Bill's Mother's (Myriad Editions, 2019) won the Arnold Bennett Prize. Her play 'The Miner Birds' commemorating 40years of the North Staffs Miners' Wives Action Group debuted at The New Vic, July 2024 and was rerun in March 2025. In February 2025, she won the VS Pritchett Short Story Prize with 'Blessing in Burslem'.

Daby Obiechefu

Daby is a multidisciplinary visual artist and performer whose work explores emotion, perception and human connection through painting, performance, videography and sculpture. She works as a creative facilitator and maker with Urban Wilderness CIC, co-producing joyful, community-led projects like the Pig Walk Parade. Daby also leads Kwanzaa Collective’s Walking and Wellbeing programme and has worked with Restoke’s Power Project, supporting young people to express themselves through collaborative performance.

Ruth Beard

Ruth is a dedicated community volunteer who has been co-producing events with Urban Wilderness CIC for the past year, having followed their work since the first Pig Parade. She describes the experience as a source of great joy and pride, and values being part of a welcoming, inclusive creative group. Ruth is passionate about seeing the positive impact the Pig Walk has on the people of Longton—helping to reclaim public space for celebration and inspire others to feel differently and more proudly about their town.