On Sunday 19 October 2025 Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield held a free event – Our Freedom – to explore the legacy of VE Day, and what freedom means to us now in 2025. The event was a culmination of their involvement in Our Freedom: Then and Now, a national creative programme marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

Choosing to look at the theme in collaboration with their local South Asian and refugee and asylum seeker communities gave a special perspective on freedom – what it meant in 1945 and now. LBT worked with four local groups – Immigration and Asylum Support Kirklees (IASK), The Sikh Soldiers Organisation, The Ukrainian British Friendship Group and 6 million+. They paired each group with a local artist and, using Simon Armitage’s poem Freedom Road, they each created a very different creative response.

The performances began with The Sikh Soldier Organisation taking to the stage to give an impassioned reading, alongside artist Hardeep Sahota, who had worked with the group to create five hanging banners under the title of The Golden Thread of Seva. These beautifully detailed banners told the legacy of the Sikh Soldiers, not just on the battlefield of World War II, but also on building the foundations of the Guru Nanak Gurudwara in Springwood, the first purpose-built Sikh temple of its kind in the UK. Interweaving between the other group performances, Hardeep read poems for each of the banners, mixing history and personal experience to give a rich and heartfelt picture of the Sikh community.

Second on the line-up was 6 million+ who worked with artist Anthony Haddon, African refugees and local people on a piece entitled Freedom Desert. In this collaborative performance using poetry, theatre and imagery of the desert, the group linked present day East African experiences with the almost forgotten East African campaign of World War II. Each member of the group spoke about what freedom means and if this had changed between now and 1945.

This was followed by IASK and artist Rob Crisp, who delivered a creative and improvised musical performance, titled Our Freedom. The main house was filled with a glorious and diverse range of instruments that took elements of Simon Armitage’s poem and created their own, unique interpretation of the source material. The group, which included musicians from Iran and Nigeria, particularly enjoyed the poem line about potatoes and created a collective soundscape around this versatile vegetable.

The final performance came from the Ukrainian British Friendship Group who worked with artist Natalie Mirkun on a movement and dance piece titled We were. We are. We will be. The stage came alive with children and adults from the group giving a spirited performance that was moving, poignant but also joyous. Sharing Ukrainian traditions, the effect of the war on the country and the hopes for future generations, the Ukrainian British Friendship Group embodied the need to reflect on freedom and ensure it is something that everyone should be able to experience.

After the performances everyone enjoyed a shared feast of a variety of cuisines over warm conversations about the event and celebrating all of those who took part and who took to the stage.

Jenny Goodman, Head of Participation at Lawrence Batley Theatre said “What a special event! We were delighted to see the Our Freedom project come together on our Main Stage. The performances were all moving, thought-provoking and joyful and it was brilliant to see such a large and diverse audience. At Lawrence Batley Theatre we pride ourselves on offering a creative home to people who rarely get the opportunity to tell their stories and share those stories in a professional theatre – Our Freedom achieved that beyond anything we could have dreamed.”

(Film credit: Towers Film and Media)