The big question facing any festival is what will its legacy be? After the party’s over, what will audiences and the local arts community be left with?
Sometimes a festival leaves behind more than just brilliant memories, and actually alters how a city perceives itself. Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture in 2008 not only brought an economic upturn but also made the city see itself differently. The legacy has been long-lasting, not least in the boldness of subsequent works such as Royal de Luxe’s Sea Odyssey in 2012. Hull, too, will be looking beyond the fireworks of the opening events in its year as UK City of Culture, towards how arts and theatre will thrive in the city after the festival is over.
Richard Bean’s The Hypocrite, a co-production with the RSC about a slice of local history during the civil war in 1642, is already sold out at Hull Truck theatre. The theatre has not exactly thrived since it moved to new premises in 2009, and has been the recipient of more than one Arts Council bailout. How great it would be if once again it became a place for everyone in the city, as it was in its Spring Street days. One way to do that is to nurture theatrical voices that are distinctively local yet potentially strong enough to fill venues across the UK.
The Hull company Middle Child, who often work with playwright Luke Barnes, have become known for their gig-theatre shows. They’re just one of many emerging companies in the city. The University of Hull has a good theatre department (James Graham is among Hull’s alumni), and, like many cities, Hull may be benefiting from the fact that, with its high rents and venue costs, London has priced itself out for many graduate companies. The City of Culture festival is a good reason to stick around and put down roots.
Some of these Hull companies were in London last week at the New Diorama, whose artistic director, David Byrne, is another University of Hull alumnus. As he points out, in the past, Hull was not great at supporting its young talent. This left the city in a situation where it had a substantial, Arts Council-funded building (Hull Truck) and lots of companies just starting out, but no middle-scale to support those companies as they grew in ambition and expertise. Byrne likened it to “a sandwich without the filling”.
It might seem counterintuitive that in its year as UK City of Culture, Hull should feel the need to come to London, but it’s a smart decision to give these emerging companies wider exposure. In its early days, after Mike Bradwell founded Hull Truck, its work was regularly seen at the Bush theatre in London. That helped the company build a following. (And Bradwell subsequently became artistic director of the Bush.)
Hull Truck cannot possibly support every new company that is springing up – it needs help from the wider theatre world. Because what is good for Hull is good for the entire UK theatre ecology. The New Diorama doesn’t just provide a London space, but offers companies help with funding applications and more. It is an enabler and genuinely believes that the way to run a theatre is by concerted acts of kindness. It’s not a National Portfolio Organisation, but it is more generous than many bigger, core-funded, organisations. They should take note.
At the New Diorama’s Hull showcase, I didn’t catch the Pub Corner Poets’ latest, Sad Little Man, but there is already a buzz around both the company and writer Josh Overton, who won the best playwright award at the 2015 National Student Drama festival. I saw a rehearsed reading of Middle Child’s latest, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, an enormously ambitious piece spanning two decades, from 2007 to 2027; Bellow Theatre’s gently poetic and salt-tinged storytelling show, Bare Skin on Briny Waters; and Silent Uproar’s A Super Happy Story About Being Super Sad, written by Jon Brittain, with a mix of wit and low-key emotion that suddenly grips your heart. For all these shows, music is an essential component.
Byrne says the impetus behind the week was to build the profile of the companies, flag up the amount of under-the-radar activity in Hull and also help to develop peer relationships. The latter is crucial if fledgling work is to develop and get more ambitious.
When the curtain comes down on the Hull City of Culture, it will be judged by what is left behind. Showing a commitment to young and emerging artists right at the start of the festival suggests there is a determination to create a legacy that could really put Hull on the theatrical map.
