Hull Truck to reopen with star-studded trilogy
John Middleton, appearing in Hull & High Water
A trilogy of captivating monologues featuring acclaimed actors will mark Hull Truck Theatre’s emergence from the Covid pandemic when it reopens to the public next month.
The three shows, which take place across various nights in June and July, will be a major milestone for the venue as it reopens for the first time since its enforced closure last March.
Two of them are world premieres and have been commissioned by the city centre theatre.
Exploring the themes of love, loss and identity, the two new commissions touch on important global issues while remaining rooted in Hull. As well as being shown in the theatre to a socially distanced, 25 per cent capacity audience, the monologues will be available to stream at home, taking the joy of regional theatre across the country.
Hull & High Water, written by Hull-born playwright Janet Plater, is one of the premieres and runs from July 1 to 10, starring award-winning actor John Middleton, best known for his 21-year tenure as Vicar Ashley Thomas in Emmerdale.
It tells the story of Frank Piddock, a man with dementia who is on the run from his care home. He hitches his way around Hull, with each familiar landmark sparking a memory and the chance to crack a joke.
Plater is best known for the 2016 production The Gaul, also with Hull Truck.
Another Hull Truck production making its debut is Everything I Own, running from June 17 to 26. Written by Daniel Ward, author of The Canary and the Crow, for which he won a Writer’s Guild Award, it is directed by Amanda Huxtable, of Abigail’s Party fame.
Gabriel Paul, in Everything I Own
This story sees Errol, played by Gabriel Paul, lose his savvy, music-loving father to Covid. Listening to his father’s Spotify playlist, Errol sorts through his possessions and celebrates the man who moved his family from Jamaica to Hull and grafted hard to give them a new start.
Between tots of rum he reflects on his father’s passion over the 1981 Brixton uprising and his certainty that change was round the corner, while wrangling with his feelings towards his own son’s fight as part of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Launching the trilogy from June 7 to 12 is The Greatest Play In The History of The World, featuring BAFTA award-winning actor Julie Hesmondhalgh, best known for her role as Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street. She is currently starring in BBC One drama The Pact.
The acclaimed one-woman show she will be performing has won The Stage Edinburgh Award, was a 2018 Fringe sell-out show, and is now in Hull as part of a nationwide tour.
Julie Hesmondhalgh, who will be performing The Greatest Play In The History of The World. Picture by Savannah Photographic
Mark Babych, artistic director of Hull Truck, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have such a high calibre of shows for our reopening. Julie, John and Gabriel are outstanding actors and the three monologues are each so unique and incredibly powerful in their own way.
“It will be momentous to see audiences back in the theatre, and the fact that we can livestream the shows and welcome new audiences to Hull Truck is a wonderful thing.”
Janthi Mills-Ward, the theatre’s executive director, said: “Like for so many venues around the country, it’s been an incredibly difficult year and we’re so pleased that we can finally safely welcome audiences back to Hull Truck.
“Behind the scenes the team has been working tirelessly to make the theatre safe and welcoming, and we’re counting down the days until we have a live audience again. The support of the local community has been invaluable in the last year and we hope that support will continue as we reopen.”
For more information, dates and tickets, visit the theatre’s website.