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Rozzy Knox, Danielle Harris and Matthew May. Not pictured: Clare Storton. 

Do you like to think critically about theatre and wider performance and start a conversation about what you’ve seen and experienced? Then our New Critics Programme, back for 2019, could be for you.

The programme features free half-day workshops with three of the UK’s most widely-read critics, plus funding to see and review work in Hull and the wider region, sharing criticism on the Hot Potato website.

Workshops run from Monday 15 July to Wednesday 17 July with Lyn Gardner, theatre writer for The Stage and reviewer for Stagedoor UK, Natasha Tripney, reviews editor at The Stage, and Alice Saville, reviewer for Time Out and editor of Exeunt Magazine.

We are especially interested in new forms of criticism and would love to see applications from people who use video and podcasting, as well as the written word.

How to apply

To apply simply send a review of something, anything, either published or unpublished, alongside a little detail about yourself and why you’d like to participate to reverb@middlechildtheatre.co.uk.

Any of this can be in the form of video or audio, as well as text. You can also arrange to come and speak with us face-to-face, if this is easier for you, although we would still like to see an example of your criticism.

Applications close at 10am on Monday 1 July.

Middle Child this week welcomes two new members to our board.

Fiona Hope is a first year undergraduate student at the University of Hull, studying Drama and Theatre Practice. She also completed a Performing Arts diploma and performed in an Edinburgh Fringe Festival Show before starting at the University last September.

Brought up in Beverley, Fiona has been involved in local theatre from a young age, working closely with a few local companies, including Middle Child and She Productions. She recently participated in the RTYDS Introduction to Directing course with Middle Child and has hopes to start up her own theatre company in Hull, in the future.

John R. Wilkinson is the tenth recipient of the Genesis Future Directors Award at the Young Vic.  He is a text-based director living between York and Leeds, currently Artistic Associate at York Theatre Royal.  His credits include: Talking Heads (Leeds Playhouse, co-directed with James Brining and Amy Leach), Winter (Young Vic) and Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down (York Theatre Royal).

He was on the Steering Group for IETM Hull 2019 and is currently undertaking research into new work and touring companies as part of Arts Council England’s Developing Your Creative Practice.

They join current board members Martin Green CBE, Sharon Darley, Jane Fallowfield, Meg Miszczuk, Aysha Powell and David Watson.

The Hull Takeover companies. Photo by Thomas Arran.

This summer, Hull is heading back to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as Absolutely Cultured’s Hull Independent Producer Initiative, in partnership with Middle Child, supported by Hull Truck Theatre and Back to Ours, support shows by five, highly acclaimed and exciting theatre companies from Hull.

The Hull Independent Producers Initiative supports and develops Hull’s performing arts sector through training and mentoring, along with championing emerging theatre companies living and working in the city.

Taking place from 2 to 26 August, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe will once again see a Hull Takeover as Hull-based theatre companies The Herd, Middle Child, The Roaring Girls, Just Club and international acrobats Casus Circus, commissioned by Back to Ours take to the stage to show the world what Hull is made of.

Support at the Fringe

Three of the visiting companies – The Herd, Just Club and The Roaring Girls – will receive financial support from Absolutely Cultured.

In addition all companies will benefit from in-kind support including PR and marketing from Absolutely Cultured as well as wellbeing support from Middle Child.

Middle Child artistic director Paul Smith, said: “The Fringe has played a huge role in raising the profile of Middle Child by putting a company from Hull in front of audiences, critics and producers from further afield, no more so than in 2017, when we enjoyed huge success with All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, as part of the first Hull Takeover.

“To be able to help a new wave of Hull-based companies in 2019 to follow suit, with particular support for wellbeing and mental health at the Fringe, really excites us.”

The Herd, Middle Child, Roaring Girls, and Just Club will also be supported by Hull Truck Theatre to preview their shows as part of their ‘Grow’ season and will benefit from the peer support they can provide each other.

Both Middle Child and Casus will be able to offer the benefit of their previous successful experiences at Edinburgh fringe to the other companies in the Takeover programme.

This will be the second Hull Takeover at the Edinburgh Fringe following the success in 2017, where the Hull-based companies scooped accolades and received praise across the national media.

It was here that Hull theatre company Silent Uproar performed their show A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad), which has gone on to receive rave reviews everywhere it has performed on its current tour, and Middle Child sold out the Paines Plough Roundabout at Summerhall with the multi-award winning All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, which later transferred to the Bush Theatre in London.

Five unmissable shows

The Canary and the Crow

The return of the Hull Takeover sees Hull’s award-winning theatre company Middle Child return to the Paines Plough Roundabout at Summerhall to present their new lyrical, semi-autobiographical piece, The Canary and the Crow.

Written and performed by Daniel Ward, with music by Prez 96 and James Frewer, this grime and hip-hop inspired gig theatre performance is about the journey of a working-class black kid who is accepted to a prestigious grammar school.

Original live music and theatre combine to tell a story of the struggle between a new environment that doesn’t accept you and an old one that has no opportunity.

31 July – 25 August, 7.50pm, Paines Plough Roundabout at Summerhall

Standing Too Close on Our Own in the Dark

Formed by University of Hull graduates, founding members and best mates, Jamie Nowell, Matthew Collins and Jake Marsden, Just Club is a new theatre company established in Hull in 2018.

The Hull Takeover will see the company take their first ever show, Standing Too Close on Our Own in the Dark, to the Paines Plough Roundabout at Summerhall for one night only.

Standing Too Close on Our Own in the Dark was supported by Middle Child’s First Show Fund.

7 August, 10.30pm, Paines Plough Roundabout at Summerhall

Slime

Perfectly pitched to engage the youngest of audiences, The Herd will perform Slime, the story of a slug, a caterpillar and the quest for a leaf.

This squishy, squelchy, hilarious play for two to five-year-olds is a unique, accessible theatrical experience with immersive and colourful play for the very young.

2-24 August, Edinburgh Central Library, 11.15am

Beach Body Ready

The Roaring Girls create work that is fierce, feminist and fun. They will take their radically and riotously joyful new show Beach Body Ready, to this year’s Fringe, defiantly championing body positivity and sticking two fingers up at how the media says you should look.

This is The Roaring Girls Fringe debut and Beach Body Ready is also supported by Pleasance Futures.

31 July – 26 August, 1.10pm, Pleasance Courtyard Above

The Herd and The Roaring Girls are Supported Companies at Hull Truck Theatre and The Herd are a Hull Libraries’ Associate Theatre Company.

DNA

Originating from Brisbane, Australia, Casus Circus will take its Back to Ours co-commissioned DNA to the festival.

Casus is recognised as a leader in contemporary circus on the international stage, and DNA is a show of physical theatre in which the acrobats explore, wrestle and nurture their real-life stories.

1-25 August, 3.15pm, Palais du Variete, George Square Gardens

The Edinburgh Fringe takes place from 2 August until 26 August 2019, but Hull audiences will have a chance to see previews of four of the shows (Slime, Beach Body Ready, Standing Too Close On Our Own In The Dark and The Canary and the Crow) at Hull Truck Theatre between 13-17 July as part of the theatre’s Grow Artist Development Season.

For further information about the takeover visit absolutelycultured.co.uk.      

Artwork by Chrome Waves

Middle Child will once again return to the Paines Plough Roundabout at Summerhall this summer with a new show for the Edinburgh Fringe.

The Canary and the Crow is grime and hip hop-inspired gig theatre about a working-class black kid who’s accepted to a prestigious grammar school.

Written by Daniel Ward with music by Prez 96 and James Frewer, this lyrical, semi-autobiographical show mixes original live music and theatre to to tell a story of the struggle between a new environment that doesn’t accept you and an old one that has no opportunity.

Middle Child performed at the Roundabout last year with One Life Stand and also returned for a second year with All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, after a sell out, award-winning run there in 2017.

The Canary and the Crow runs at the Roundabout from 31 July to 25 August, following previews at Hull Truck There from the 16-17 July and at Latitude Festival on the 19 July.

See our listing for more details on all of our performances of this new production and to book tickets.

Do target audiences keep you up at night? Rather learn Klingon than craft a tweet? Then our Theatre Marketing Workshop is for you: a quickstart guide to promoting your work, from defining your target audience and developing your brand to creating content and approaching the press.

This free introductory workshop, on Wednesday 29 May, is aimed at Hull-based companies and individuals who find themselves tasked with reaching an audience, but who don’t have a background in marketing or PR.

More details…

After a successful first 12 months as a new Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation, we are looking to expand our core team with the appointment of a freelance Finance Assistant.

Reporting to and working closely with the Executive Director  and General and Production Manager, the Finance Assistant will ensure the smooth and efficient running of the Middle Child office, developing and maintaining finance systems and procedures that ensure book keeping is accurate, up to date and well managed.

We expect to appoint somebody with experience of accounting platforms, such as Quickbooks, with a high level of numeracy and attention to detail and we welcome applications from people who have never worked in the arts before but who have an interest in theatre and culture.

For more details about the role and how to apply download the recruitment pack.

Applications close on Monday 6 May.

Us Against Whatever, Middle Child’s electrifying production will open at Hull Truck Theatre this Wednesday, 27 March.

Us Against Whatever will be the first time that Hull’s Polish community has seen itself in the theatre, with two Polish performers taking centre stage in a cabaret about what it means to call Hull home.

The story follows the lives of two women in Hull over eight years, leading to their coming together in a karaoke bar on the night of the EU referendum in 2016.

Audiences will also be able to sign up to sing karaoke themselves on the famous Hull Truck stage during the interval, as well as singalong to original songs throughout the show.

One of the characters is Anna, a Polish woman from Masuria, played by Polish actor Edyta Budnik (Killing Eve, BBC Three). Edyta is joined on stage by Adam Hadi (Warsaw Film School), who will star as Anna’s brother Michal. Adam also directed the movement in the show, bringing a touch of European flair to the choreography.

Hull writer Maureen Lennon wrote the script in collaboration with Polish theatre maker Nastazja Somers, while the National Theatre, British Council and Polish Cultural Institute also supported the production, adding to the international links in a show that comes at a momentous time in UK history.

Us Against Whatever is presented in association with Hull Truck Theatre and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse. The production will run at Hull Truck Theatre until Wednesday 3 April. 

Adam Hadi and Edyta Budnik in Us Against Whatever.
Photo by Sam Taylor.

Inside the Middle Child rehearsal room. Photo by Thomas Arran.

Do you love telling stories? Fancy working with actors, musicians, writers and designers to bring them to life on stage? Then we want to hear from you as they look for potential new theatre directors in the city.

Applications are now open for our free Introduction to Directing programme, which is aimed at storytellers who are yet to do any formal training in directing or even theatre.

Our new programme will give participants a taste of theatre-making across two weeks in April and May this year and is part of the Regional Theatre Young Directors Scheme (RTYDS).

The first week of workshops will train people in a set of basic directing techniques. They will also have one-to-one chats with three directors from different stages in their careers to talk about their own journeys and how they make work.

In the second week the new directors will put the skills they have learned into practice, by staging short ten-minute plays, written by the Middle Child Writers’ Group and performed by actors from their Acting Gym, to a small, friendly audience.

Following the second week and the showcase of their work, Middle Child will also create a development plan with each director, to help them take their next steps into theatre.

Applications are now open and close on Wednesday 14 February. People can apply by sending an expression of interest in a way that is most accessible to them, such as by email, phone or by speaking to us in person.

RTYDS, the UK’s leading programme of professional development for theatre directors at all stages of their development, is contributing to culture change in theatres, as directors from under-represented groups develop their skills to become creative leaders.

RTYDS specifically aims to address the barriers arising from social, gender, financial, ethnic, cultural, geographic or educational disadvantage or disability and support regional talent, diversity and leadership.

She Productions and East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Finding Your Voice programme at East Riding Theatre, June 2018

Annie Kirkman, She Productions

“We all need a voice. Sadly, your voice is one of the first things you lose when your confidence is broken and the world stops making sense.”

Since forming She Productions three years ago it has been our mission to engage people with drama on and off the stage. We’ve been lucky enough to run workshop programmes with a huge variety of people from ages four to 60, covering themes from storytelling to consent. Regardless of the content, every one of our workshops is designed with exactly the same ethos; using drama to enrich life skills by building trust, challenging social expectations and commending courage.

Most recently we’ve been touring our new musical It’s Different for Girls around the UK and, with the support of Middle Child’s Match Fund and Arts Council England, we delivered consent and relationship workshops to schools and youth groups local to venues. Each session presented challenges to overcome, from adapting workshops to participants’ needs to battling time constraints but we learnt something from every group. Naturally, some groups had more understanding of consent and what it means than others, and of course we were thrilled to be able to provide a deeper learning. Nevertheless, the most rewarding part of these workshops was giving those involved a voice and the space to express that voice.

We always start our workshops with physical group and partner exercises. These are intended to integrate individuals and encourage them to work with each other without the added pressure of discussion. This active start to our sessions seems to help release anxiety and any pre-determined expectations. As clichéd as it sounds, it is as if the whole group finally remember to start breathing again and shake off their worries collectively. The final section of the workshop focuses on freeing our minds and encouraging creative and honest conversation including a ‘free-writing’ task where the participants write their stream of consciousness without interruption. Of course, everyone learns in different ways, some take to the writing exercises whilst others prefer debate or physical activities but ultimately every person can discover a creative outlet for their own expression.

With Middle Child’s help and another recent successful Arts Council grant we are now undergoing a period of organisational development in which we will develop our Outreach strand with other local groups who can benefit from our programmes. This includes our exciting new Empower project with Together Women, a Hull- based charity who ‘move women out of crime into positive futures’, where we will work with their clients to nurture self-esteem, celebrate inner strength and motivate positive behavioural change through creativity and drama.

We pride ourselves in being able to adapt sessions like these to cater to participants and their particular needs and interests which of course takes time to plan. The support from Middle Child has allowed us to take this time and do the work and research we need to do to ensure the programmes are bespoke.

Ultimately, we want people to recognise the huge benefits drama can have and how it is not just about ‘being an actor’. Creativity should be a part of everyone’s life; it offers escapism; it connects us with ourselves and others; and most importantly it can help us find a voice that might have been hidden away for some time.