This festive season, Hull Truck Theatre is once again asking audiences and the public to donate generously to their Christmas appeal, Give the Gift of Theatre.
Give the Gift of Theatre is a fundraising campaign that raises money to give children living in low-income households the chance to attend a performance at the theatre during the festive season. Every penny raised goes towards making it possible for children and families experiencing financial hardship to visit the theatre, enabling them to experience the wonder and magic of a live theatre performance, some for the very first time.
Hull Truck Theatre isn’t just a physical theatre space, it’s a creative centre and community hub for the city and the region. Through their work with schools and local communities, they help to break down barriers to engagement in the arts and give young people opportunities to both attend and participate in the work they deliver – both on and off the stage.
Janthi Mills-Ward, Executive Director at Hull Truck Theatre, said: “Attending the theatre at Christmas is such a magical experience. 21.6% of children under 16 living in Hull are in absolute low-income families, with a further 28.2% in relatively low-income families. A donation from the public enables us to give out additional tickets throughout the run of a show (alongside the Pay What You Can performances that the theatre funds) to those children who otherwise would not have the resources to be able to share in the joy theatre brings at Christmas.”
Paul Usher, Staff Member at Longhill Primary School, said:
“The children from Longhill Primary School will extremely benefit from this opportunity as they have very limited experiences with the theatre, for some of these children it will be their first experience of Hull Truck. I am so excited that they will get to know about your venue and hopefully this will ignite their love for the theatre. As it did me 35 years ago watching, ‘Button Moon’ at the ‘Little Theatre’ in Middlesbrough.”
By giving just £10, donors would be giving the equivalent value of one child’s ticket, which would give them the opportunity to visit the theatre over the festive season.
The generosity of audiences and the public will help fund tickets which may well inspire the next generation of theatregoers and creatives.
To donate to Give the Gift of Theatre, please visit www.hulltruck.co.uk/donate or call the Box Office on 01482 323638.