Bradford Literature Festival (BLF) 2026 played host to the world premiere of Saints On A Bridge, the brand-new stage show from award-winning writer, rapper and beatboxer Testament.
Also known as Andy Brooks, Testament is a multi-talented rapper, playwright, poet and world record-breaking beatboxer whose creative journey has been closely connected with the festival. First appearing at the festival in 2016, BLF has nurtured and platformed his work celebrating spoken word, hip-hop, theatre and storytelling. The world premiere of Saints on a Bridge marked an important new chapter in this longstanding creative relationship.
Saints On A Bridge follows a handful of characters surrounding a small church. Told through seven interconnected stories, the audience hears different perspectives on a single contentious event in their community, causing them to question both their ideas of nationhood and faith as well as their fellowship. Initially commissioned by Liverpool Cathedral, the show gives a bird’s eye view of what identity and connection means in 21st century Britain.
Saints On A Bridge was just one of the many exciting events BLF showed as part of its Theatres, Gigs, and Concerts theme of events. The festival also saw appearances from legendary Hacienda DJ Mike Pickering, who headlined the annual A Lit Night Out; Laboni Barua and Ahmed Kaysher, who celebrated Bangladeshi heritage with Evergreen Songs of Bengal; and Priti Kaur, who sang classics from the ghazal tradition in Timeless Ghazals. BLF also showed the world premiere of Mizan: Changing The Narrative and the UK cinema premiere of 100 Years of Marilyn Monroe.
Testament said, “Bradford Literature Festival has been an instrumental part of my development as an artist. I’ve been a regular contributor to their Education Programme, where they’ve pushed me into new areas and developed me as an educator. Crucially, the festival has also been very open and supportive of my creative ideas. The festival has a long history of discussing deep issues of both identity and faith and it felt like a natural place to premiere the show.”
Syima Aslam, CEO and Artistic Director at BLF, said, “Bradford Literature Festival has a proud tradition of hosting world premieres and this year was no exception. Testament is someone the festival has supported for a decade, helping him develop in his career and become the artist he is today. We are absolutely delighted he chose to premiere Saints on a Bridge to the world at BLF.”
