‘We were sidelined from Idris Elba project’, say female writers at Manchester International Festival

It’s billed as 18 extraordinary days of art, but the Manchester International Festival, which opens today, has been caught up in an row about who wrote one of the plays that is having its premiere there.

“Tree” was the brainchild of Idris Elba, but two women writers who were involved in the early stages say they were sidelined when Young Vic artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah was brought in.