WEEKEND COLUMN SATURDAY 29 AUGUST 2026
- STEVE COOKE AATA
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
previews, articles, reviews, interviews, and recommendations with Steve Cooke
WEEKEND COLUMN SATURDAY 29 AUGUST 2026
Article: The Importance of Rediscovering Storytelling, East is East, A Heritage Photo walk, with Ellie Waters plus A gripping play from one of Scotland's most celebrated playwrights
Previews: Manchester Literature Festival 2026
The Importance of Rediscovering Storytelling
By Steve Cooke
In his new book, A British Childhood, outgoing children’s laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce makes a powerful case for helping families rediscover storytelling even in rough and tight circumstances.
He cites the case of mums in Knowsley, one of Britain’s poorest boroughs, who couldn’t read but were introduced by him at a session at a GP practice to Dear Zoo, which they could easily recount to their children [“You just need to remember one sentence: ‘I wrote to the zoo to send me a pet and they sent me a….’ “The pictures will do the rest.”]
Cottrell-Boyce takes his storybooks and children’s literature very seriously and laments that the simple act of a parent reading a story to a child is being lost. He goes on to state that almost 50% of children are arriving at school never having been read to. That many don’t even know how a book works – swiping the pages or tapping to expand illustrations as though they are screens.
Children who have been read to are at a massive advantage between them and their peers who first encounter books in school.
One initiative to counter this is the Bookstart scheme, which ensures each newborn cohort receives the same free book and provides programmes and resources for practitioners.
Regular readers of this column may have noticed in the listings that libraries across the borough run regular Bookstart sessions.
Libraries running sessions include Rochdale Central, Castleton, Wardle, Spotland, Alkrington, Middleton, Heywood, Smallbridge, Langley, Junction, Littleborough, Milnrow and Balderstone.
Toddlers up to pre-school age and their parents or carers are invited to join Amy and Bookstart Bear for fun sessions.
At their first session they receive their very own Bookstart passport to get stamped each time they go along to a session or visit the library. For every 6 stamps they get in their passport, they receive a certificate. If parent or child are not library members already, they can join at the Bookstart Bear Club.
To find out more about Bookstart visit: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/how-we-help/programmes/bookstart/
To find out more about Bookstart sessions and a whole range of free activities in our libraries across the borough visit: https://www.rochdale.gov.uk/events/20166/library
To find out more about Frank Cottrell-Boyce visit: https://rcwlitagency.com/clients/boyce-frank-cottrell
A British Childhood: How children Live Now is published by Picador at £14.99
Manchester Literature Festival 2026
Preview by Steve Cooke
2026 is the National Year of Reading and Manchester Literature Festival is a partner in this urgent campaign to encourage more people to Go All In.
The Festival Directors, “fully understand the great joy reading can bring and the transformative effect it can have on our creativity, our physical and mental health and our communities”.
Manchester Literature Festival is an annual celebration of storytelling bringing families, friends and strangers together – “to listen, learn, reflect, laugh, engage and discover more”.
This year’s Festival includes a wealth of artists that have been selected to inspire, entertain and challenge Festival goers.
Alongside epic new novels from Maggie O’Farrell, Min Jin Lee, Elif Shafak and Yann Martel, the Fiction strand includes stories that transport audiences to Japan, South Korea, Australia, Brazil, Turkey, Trinidad, Ireland and the United States.
It also features Brutalist landmarks, Hong Kong ghost stories, dystopian visions of the near future and a deep dive into Lee Child’s bookshelves.
The Culture strand looks at ways to navigate the uncertain world we’re living in. Sarah Hall explores radical imagination as a vital weapon in the fight for climate survival.
Natasha Walter proposes new global feminism connecting social justice and environmental action. Deborah Frances-White encourages us to pause, challenge assumptions and listen deeper. Broadcasters Marina Hyde, Paul Mason and Owen Jones examine politics, power and the decline of the West whilst Dave Haslam and special guests discuss creativity, success and failure.
Finally, the Poetry strand welcomes some of the world’s most luminary poets to perform their work in Manchester’s most intimate and atmospheric venues.
“As ever, we are grateful to our main funders Arts Council England, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Manchester City Council, our Higher Education Partner the University of Manchester, our Principal Hotel partner The Edwardian Manchester and all our sponsors, venues, partner organisations and volunteers for their continued support.’
“We hope you’ll join us at this year’s Festival and become part of our community. Cathy Bolton and Sarah-Jane Roberts, Manchester Literature Festival Co-directors.”
Download the Festival Brochure: https://manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk/storage/media/manchester-literature-festival-brochure-2026.pdf
Simon Armitage, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Hugh Boneville will also be appearing at the Festival.
East is East
Preview by Steve Cooke
Rehearsals are in full swing for the much anticipated production of East is East at the Octagon.
It’s Salford, 1971. The Khan family are living above a chip shop and on the fault line between two cultures. George Khan is determined to raise the family in his Pakistani way. His English wife, Ella, just wants to keep the peace. Their seven children? They’re busy discovering disco, denim, and defiance.
When George begins arranging marriages for his sons, rebellion erupts and loyalties are tested. What follows is a hilarious and deeply moving battle between tradition and change.
This is the 30th anniversary production of Ayub Khan Din's modern classic, a story about identity, generational conflict, and the messy, unbreakable bonds of family.
Director Kash Ashad said:
'East is East is my story. There's not many plays that speak to the experience of being brought up in a Muslim household, with a white British mother and a Pakistani father, who ran his own business (a shop in my dad's case not a chippy) and with kids who felt not British enough to be British nor Pakistani enough to be Pakistani. . So to get the opportunity to direct this play at the theatre where I started my directing journey and be able to share it with audiences in Salisbury, Derby and the Citizens in Glasgow - my local theatre in my late teen/early 20s and where I first set foot on a professional stage - is a dream'
To get your tickets visit https://octagonbolton.co.uk/events/east-is-east?
Friday 4 September – Saturday 3 October
A Heritage Photo walk, with Ellie Waters
Preview by Steve Coolke
The heritage photo walk will explore Rochdale's town centres including much loved landmarks such as Rochdale Town Hall. Through photography you will be invited to connect with the past through capturing images of the present and sharing stories together during the walk.
Ellie Waters is a documentary photographer from Rochdale, with a passion for visual storytelling. This event is part of the Broadfield Park Slopes Project, which is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Free / Pay What You Want
There may also be some small changes depending on weather.
11:00-13.00, 12th September meet outside the entrance of Rochdale Town Hall, then make your way round the town centre together along a route curated by Ellie. There will be points along the route for meeting and rest.
A gripping play from one of Scotland's most celebrated playwrights
Preview by Steve Cooke
Iron by Rona Munro, a gripping play from one of Scotland's most celebrated playwrights is an intense psychological drama set in a women’s prison
Josie is seeing her mother Fay for the first time in a while – she’s never walked into a prison before, and she’s been putting it off for fifteen years. Uncovering the memories they share is going to be more perilous than either of them can imagine…
Real-life mother and daughter Christine Mackie (Dr Gaddas in Coronation Street/Daphne Bryant in Downton Abbey) and Lois Mackie (Finding Emily/Coronation St/Elysium Theatre) play Fay and Josie in Rona Munro’s Award winning play presented by Best Girl Productions.
To book your tickets visit https://www.homemcr.org/whats-on/iron-rsbz?utm_campaign=2334892_theatre%20round%20up&utm_medium=email&utm_source&dm_i=6OM7,1E1M4,3IGE58,6JVX0,1,0,0,0
19.15-21.15 on Tuesday 15 September – Saturday 19 September at HOME 2 Tony Wilson Place Manchester M15 4FN.
RECOMMNEDED
Saturday, 29 August 2026
Lego Club - Littleborough Library
Come and join our Lego sessions.
Free
For families with children aged 2 years and above. Lego club sessions are aimed at children aged 5–12 and their parents or carers. Duplo is available for younger children.
Each session, the children will be given a theme, followed by time to let their imaginations run wild and build.
No need to book, you can just come along.
11am - 12pm
Littleborough Library, Hare Hill Park, Littleborough OL15 9HE
Saturday, 29 August 2026
Kids' Club - Wardle Library
Come along and get creative at our craft table.
Free
Last Saturday of every month. These themed Kids' Club activity sessions will include crafts, activities and challenges.
For families with children aged 4 and over.
No need to book, you can just come along.
Contact: wardle.library@rochdale.gov.uk
10am - 12.30pm
Wardle Library, 448 Birch Road, Wardle, Rochdale OL12 9LH
Saturday, 29 August 2026
Bring Your Own Book Club - Rochdale Central Library
Every other Saturday. Fancy a little quiet reading time surrounded by fellow book-lovers? Come along, settle in, have a chat, have a read, and have fun.
It’s a book club with no assigned reading and no homework. All readers are welcome. All you need to do is bring your own book or grab one from the library.
For adults and teenagers.
Free
Booking required: No, you can just turn up.
12pm - 1pm
Rochdale Central Library, Number One Riverside, Smith Street, Rochdale OL16 1XU
Wednesday, 2 September 2026
Heywood Scribblers - Heywood Library
First Wednesday of every month. Free, friendly creative writing sessions. Poetry and story-writing workshops. All abilities welcome, whether you're new to writing or a seasoned writer.
For adults, families and teenagers.
No need to book, you can just drop in.
Free
Contact: heywood.library@rochdale.gov.uk
1.15pm - 3.15pm
Heywood Library, LCpl Stephen Shaw MC Way, Heywood OL10 1LW
Wednesday, 2 September 2026
Toad Lane Concerts - Callum Bisson piano (Chetham’s & RNCM)
Running every Wednesday, Music at Lunchtime is a weekly live classical music concert series that has been going since the 1960s. The sessions were initially run at the old Rochdale Art Gallery by the local authority, but since May 2001 have been run by volunteer-enthusiasts and artistic director, Dr Joe Dawson.
£6
Phone: Dr Joe Dawson 01706 648872
St Mary in the Baum, Toad Lane/St Mary's Gate, Rochdale OL16 1DZ
Doors open 12noon, concert starts 12.30pm - 1.30pm
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