AWARDS AND REVIEWS

Baby He Loves You - Photo by Tom Arran 195

Baby, He Loves You (2024)

“Entertaining, funny, emotional and cathartic. I’m so proud that this work is being made and performed in Hull.” – The Hull Story

“The staging was a wonderfully original idea. The second act is a triumph, the climax unforgettable.” – Hull Daily Mail

“An emotional tightrope… I was simultaneously hugging myself and squirming in my seat throughout.” – Michelle Dee

Modest (2023)

“Brammar’s exceptional piece… uses a potent mix of drag, searing comedy, indignant fury and tenderness to explore the real-life artist’s history and highlight its contradictions… The ensemble cast are wonderful.” – The Stage

“Rollicking piece of gig theatre… stonking performances and stunning singing” – The Guardian

“Hugely pleasurable watch… delivers punch after punch” – What’s On Stage

Robin Hood: Prince of Thorngumbald (2022)

“In its mission statement, Middle Child states its aim is to create a good night out with big ideas. Robin Hood is a fantastic example of just how well the company can deliver exactly that. It is punchy and hopeful, championing togetherness in the face of hardship. Once again, this rock ‘n’ roll panto should be unmissable in your schedule this year.” – Hull Is This

There Should Be Unicorns (2022)

“Unashamedly joyous… a vibrant, colourful celebration of imagination…. Revels in the radical act of imagining the ways in which things could be better.” – The Stage

“An absolute joy to watch… ingenious in its accessibility… This is a show that finds avenues to be kind, even to the characters who, in less-nuanced shows, may have been plainly villains” – Hull Is This

The Canary and the Crow (2019)

  • George Devine Award (Daniel Ward) 2020
  • Writers’ Guild Award for Best Play for Young Audiences (Daniel Ward) 2020

“A bouncy show that’s easy to love… it will inspire serious conversations.” – Evening Standard

“The staging, the performance and the writing makes me truly feel that I am watching the unfolding future of British theatre and it is invigorating” – A Younger Theatre

“The audience was on their feet before the show was even finished in this outstanding piece of politically charged theatre” – The List

Us Against Whatever

Us Against Whatever (2019)

“I can’t help feeling that this is exactly the play about Brexit that we need right now, complex, layered and ultimately forgiving” – A Younger Theatre

“A breakneck journey… simultaneously personal and universal” – The Stage

“It’s not often you leave a theatre feeling both entertained and wrung-out, but this superb production is one that will linger in the mind for a long time” – Hull Daily Mail

One Life Stand (2018)

“This year’s Fringe surely bears few more evocative reflections of life as a British twentysomething in 2018 than One Life Stand” – The Scotsman

“Like a Saturday night that doesn’t go the way you want it, this play ends up weighing heavy on your heart. It’s not easily shaken.” – Exeunt Magazine

“Nicol’s text is dreamlike; it captures moments and they’re gone in a blink. And with James Frewer and Honeyblood’s music, you can just completely lose yourself in the haze of Hull in the night time.” – A Younger Theatre

“Boundary breaking buzz… Few shows have captured the conflicting emotions evoked by dating apps and social media. None has done it as stylishly as this.” – The Stage

Three people dance in the middle of the stage. In the foreground the silhouette of a female bassist.

All We Ever Wanted Was Everything (2017)

  • The Stage Excellence Award (Marc Graham) 2017
  • Broadway Bobby Award 2017
  • The 730 Review Best of the Best Award 2017

“Middle Child claim on their website: “We will set fire to your expectations of what a night at the theatre can be.” Yeah, right. But they really do.” – The Telegraph

“Glorious…a raucous, riotous 75 minutes of storytelling, shot through with pop, poetry and politics” – The Stage

“Middle Child really smash it with a superb piece of gig theatre…combines music and storytelling in an outrageously entertaining fashion” – The Guardian

“A rousing and invigorating call to arms that speaks directly to anyone trying to find their place in the world.” – WhatsOnStage

Two young women in black dresses play electronic instruments on stage

I Hate Alone (2017)

“This is theatre in alternative spaces and everyone is welcome to laugh, cry and celebrate angry women ripe for anarchy.” – Browse Magazine

Ten Storey Love Song (2016)

“A pulsating anxiety of frustrated hopes, unspoken regrets, and frantically derailing trains of thought… Formally daring, unashamedly populist and politically incendiary” – The List

“A surreal, and ultimately touching, glimpse into the world of these slightly lost characters” – The Stage

“Loud and crude but in a good way… the cast fling themselves into their roles, making excellent physical use of a limited space… it’s hard to resist its pure visceral punch” – WhatsOnStage

“A high-energy, layered story that manages to squeeze a tremendous amount of heartbreak and humor into an hour and fifteen minutes… an impressive ensemble with nary a weak note” – Exeunt Magazine

“Ten Storey Love Song may be the greatest Fringe show I’ve ever encountered… a shot of pure theatrical adrenaline” – Broadway Baby

Weekend Rockstars - Middle Child 10th Birthday Party

Weekend Rockstars (2014-16)

“What Weekend Rockstars achieves most is drilling home the camaraderie of the indie fan experience… It is about the catharsis and solace this genre of music provides for many amid life’s most vicious moments.” – The Guardian

“Is it a gig? Is it a storytelling piece? Is it a play? Middle Child’s account of the worst week in one man’s life is all these things and more, bringing together Luke Barnes’ beady, motoring script with James Frewer’s score and songs that conjures the grungy streets of Hull with a loving eye” – The Guardian

“Weekend Rockstars aims for, and hits, that sweet spot between gig and theatre. The room reverberates with late night energy. It’s a cocky, noisy swaggering sort of show, but it’s also unexpectedly, genuinely moving – catching you off guard, taking hold of you and twisting.” – The Stage

“Weekend Rockstars is a vibrant, fun, touching production that is gold dust for engaging young audiences in theatre.” – A Younger Theatre