Tickets are now available for a Karl Marx Memorial Lecture screening at a city centre venue in Sheffield, with the viewing focussing on a renowned 1983 talk by famous sociologist Stuart Hall.

The event will take place at the Union Street venue in the heart of Sheffield, which champions all sorts of events from woodworking workshops to yoga classes.

Now, the Union Street space will host a screening of a newly obtained, digitised lecture of Stuart Hall from all the way back in 1983 discussing the late Karl Marx.

This original talk was organised by Sheffield City Council to commemorate 100 years since Marx’s death and celebrate the philosopher’s life and works.

Joe Brindle, a student at the University of Sheffield and organiser for this new screening, has taken inspiration from Sheffield’s radical past.

He said: “I’ve been working with a few Sheffielders to put this together, we had the idea after learning about some of the really interesting things that Sheffield City Council did.

“It’s pretty inspiring that the council once stood firmly against Thatcher by encouraging public education, declaring a nuclear-free zone, building a mass council houses and much more. I guess our goal is trying to bring back a bit of that radical spirit to Sheffield.”

Forty years ago today, Sheffield City Council organised a Marx Memorial Lecture to remember the life and works of the great philosopher on the anniversary of his death.

We have now obtained a digitised copy of the 1983 lecture, delivered by the incredible Stuart Hall. pic.twitter.com/e31BWaooLR

— Sheffield Marx Memorial Lecture (@MarxLecture) March 14, 2023

In today’s political climate, Minesh Parekh, Labour councillor for Crookes and Crosspool, argues that these talks are needed more than ever.

He said: “This isn’t simply about history or heritage however: in the forty years since the last lecture, climate degradation has accelerated at an unprecedented rate, and inequality is spiralling to new levels.

In that context, Marx’s ideas are more relevant than ever as we look to identify routes out of our current crises.”

The talk, which is free to attend, will take place on the 30th of March – the screening occurring in the same month as the 140th anniversary of Karl Marx’s death.

For Mr Brindle, once this Stuart Hall speech on Karl Marx has been seen by the public, similar talks in memory of the German philosopher should follow suit.

He said: “I really hope that we can bring back Sheffield’s radical tradition of open and interesting debate on these really key issues, it would be great if we can persuade the City Council to allow us to do an annual lecture with guest speakers… We’ll see.

You can pick up a free ticket for this Karl Marx Memorial Lecture here .