Are we really all innocent until proven guilty?

Public Interest was an ambitious large-scale show that asked how we challenge the narratives spun about young working-class people in 2025. Part music video, part-political theatre, the show was created for Bradford 2025 by Common/Wealth and premiered at Loading Bay, a Bradford 2025 pop-up venue in the heart of the city.

Public Interest confronted racist and classist discrimination within the justice system by exploring real-life cases of Joint Enterprise, a legal doctrine used to charge and convict people who may have played no direct part in a crime. A cast of rappers and DJs told their stories on their own terms using drill, grime and bassline – the very music so often weaponised against them.

Staged in the basement of a disused city-centre warehouse, which featured projections, cinematic lighting and basslines, Public Interest was a vital and vivid call to action.

Loading Bay was a pop-up arts venue in Bradford City Centre for Bradford 2025.