Hull theatre company Middle Child looking for new home

MOVING: Middle Child is looking for a new home. Picture by Tom Arran Commercial Photography

An award-winning Hull theatre company is looking for a new home in the city after discussions with its landlord about the building it occupies being put up for sale. 

Middle Child has rehearsed at the former Darley’s pub on Porter Street since 2011 and, since 2018, has opened it to the wider public as a creative hub.

Goodwin Development Trust, which own Darley's, announced last week its intention to sell the building at auction and Middle Child has agreed that now is the right time to move on.

Artistic director, Paul Smith, said: “We are immensely grateful to Goodwin for hosting us in this building for the best part of a decade and it would be an understatement to say that we would not be where we are today without their support.

“While we’ve enjoyed many years in Darley’s and the news of its sale came as a surprise, we had already begun to discuss our future there internally and imagine what the perfect Middle Child space might be, that better suits the way that we work.

“We are now going to take our time to find a new public space and remain committed to making it available to the wider artistic community and audiences, as we have done with Darley’s in recent years.”

Alongside rehearsing the majority of their shows in the space, Middle Child have also hosted rehearsals for many other local companies and, in 2019, Silent Uproar moved in as company-in-residence. 

CREATIVE HUB: Darley’s, on Porter Street. Picture by Jamie Potter

Darley’s has also hosted countless workshops, as part of Middle Child’s wide-reaching artist development programme to bring through a new generation of theatre makers in the city.

In 2018, Middle Child hosted the Lock In festival, bringing together writers, actors, musicians and young paid interns to create four short plays in 24 hours. 

Hull’s first scratch night for new writers in many years took place there in January 2020, in partnership with Silent Uproar with support from The Hypocrite writer Richard Bean.

Darley’s is also home to Middle Child’s theatre library, which includes over 2,000 scripts available to borrow for free and which, in 2019, toured Hull City Council libraries. 

Middle Child will now spend the coming months finding a suitable new creative space where it can continue its work.

Paul added: “We are sad to leave our draughty old pub on the corner, but we are also excited about what we can achieve with a new space in the future. 

“Darley’s was very much cobbled together from what we had available, with invaluable help from artists, volunteers and other participants.

“Now we can take the time to find somewhere that better fits our purpose and meets the needs of artists and audiences in Hull in this new world, post-coronavirus.” 

Middle Child is currently arranging an interim space and is welcoming ideas and enquiries about a potential long-term home.

Visit www.middlechildtheatre.co.uk for more details.