Middle Child artistic director, Paul Smith, shares an update on their move into a new space on Humber Street.
Hello everyone, I hope you’ve all had brilliant summers and are eagerly awaiting rain, crime dramas and jumpers as much as I am.
Since taking the plunge and moving into our new building, in-between the tiny matter of touring Biting Point and producing a playwriting festival, we’ve been busy bringing our new space to life and have a lot to share.
First, I just want to say how excited we are to be on Humber Street, a place where we’ve long made work: from our early days at Fruit, to our annual pantos at Social and, more recently, shows at Stage@TheDock and our new festival, Fresh Ink.
Our work in the Fruit Market has been made possible thanks to our long-standing partnership with Wykeland, co-founders of Fresh Ink and without whom much of what we do wouldn’t be possible.
Opening our own theatre here is the next logical step for us and we’re grateful for how Wykeland have embraced this idea: agreeing to join us on this journey, while making it quick and easy for us to move in and move forward with our future plans.
The Middle Child team have also been shaping our long-term vision for the space. This development excites us all and, naturally, asks big questions about what might change in how we work.
Since our formation, we’ve been nothing if not ambitious and I’m pleased to fill you in today on what’s getting us out of bed in the morning.
It’s scary to put this out there, and perhaps a little naïve given how early we are in the story, but this is our vision:
69 Humber Street will become the most influential new writing theatre outside of London
Optimistic, right? Maybe. But we’ve seen first-hand the impact that intimate spaces with a healthy approach to risk and a habit of saying “yes” to bold ideas can have.
We’ve seen it at the New Diorama, a space that may be small, but which has had a huge impact on the industry and the artists it has hosted.
We’ve seen it at the Bush Theatre, which has platformed some of the best artists and writers the world has to offer, including Hull legends Mike Bradwell and Tom Wells, not to mention our transfer of 2017’s All We Ever Wanted Was Everything.
We’re inspired by The Yard, so successful they’re now rebuilding it twice the size; the Schaubühne, home to many incredible productions by Thomas Ostermeier; and the original Hull Truck Theatre on Spring Street, popularised by the work of John Godber.
While very different in style, each of these venues have shown and continue to show an unshakeable belief in new work, a commitment to improving access and the promise of a good night out – that inescapable phrase in Middle Child lore, written about so provocatively in John McGrath’s timeless call-to-arms.
Our space is going to be radical. It’s going to develop, nurture and produce the best new work. One day people will travel from all over to visit our little theatre, knowing they will see plays that will challenge, surprise and inspire them.
We believe plays that start their life here will, one day, be seen in the West End, on Broadway and on television. They’ll be locally rooted, but globally ambitious.
We dream that in the future someone will look back and track this theatre’s role in identifying and platforming the next generation of playwrights, and the next wave of great, boundary-breaking plays.
It is from this space that we will carve a hopeful path for new writing in Hull, the north and the whole of the country.
Times are hard, but we want 69 Humber Street to reignite artists’ belief in what’s possible and re-energise local audiences around new work made with them in mind. This is not a time to be cynical, but a time to hope, dream and act.
We know this is a big vision, being brought into play among funding challenges, terrifying world events and a decrease in the amount of new writing being produced nationally. But it also these factors that affirm this is the correct way forward.
We, as an industry, need to fight for spaces which truly believe in new voices and new stories, which strive to better understand the world we’re living in.
We can’t regress to the safest choices or the easiest routes but must instead work hard to remind audiences how brilliant, relevant and unmissable live theatre can be.
That’s where you come in.
We’re doing everything we can to bring the best new work here and are beginning a journey that will take us far into the future. This can only work if the people of Hull vote with their feet.
Once we kick-off with our grand opening (more below) we want you to bang down our door and make yourselves at home. This theatre is a theatre for Hull and for the people who live and work here.
If you believe in the potential of this great city of culture, almost ten years after the festivities of 2017, then please do what you can to support this new venture, which we know can and will compete with theatres worldwide.
We’ll soon be announcing a few exciting ways you can do exactly that, but for now we’d love it if you could share this post and tell your friends about what’s coming.
We are now progressing with phase one of our build. Thanks to support from Hull City Council, Wykeland, DCMS Create Growth and Invest Hull, we’ve raised the funds to install seating, toilets and signage, as well as revamp our library with a new focus on 21st century plays.
Thanks also to support from the Equity Charitable Trust, we’re also reworking the space to make sure it’s inviting, comfortable and fit-for-purpose for actors to use year-round.
It’s incredible how quickly funders have jumped on-board with our plan and we’re hugely thankful to each of them for providing us with the necessary support to get the space ready for your arrival.
To avoid jinxing it, I won’t yet reveal when we expect to complete all this work.
However I will say that we’re aiming to open with our spring 2026 production of Isabelle by Marc Graham – a nice synergy considering Marc is one of our founding members and his play first started life at Fresh Ink, at the other end of Humber Street.
For regular users of our library, self-tape facilities and hot desks, we can’t wait to welcome you back next year.
For now, we’re sure you understand a dusty building site isn’t conducive to creative work, but rest assured, you’ll be the first to know when we’re ready to open our doors once again.
In the meantime, do feel free to peek through our windows next time you’re on Humber Street, and see if you can spot any changes.
Aside from the building, it’s been an incredible few months at Middle Child, with unprecedented levels of fundraising success for the company, panto tickets selling like hotcakes and us beginning to enjoy the benefits of our Resident Company status with the National Theatre.
We have plenty more exciting announcements lined up in the coming months, so do keep your eyes peeled across our channels for plenty of things to do, see and get involved in.
As always, our priority is Hull and we’re excited to continue making plans that prove this city is the place to be.