Hull Truck Theatre
Encyclopedia
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
in Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
which presents high quality drama productions.
It also tours its productions on a regular basis.
The theatre was founded in 1971 by actor Mike Bradwell when he could not find work. He placed an ad' in Time Out magazine saying, "Half-formed theatre company seeks other half". The first production, "The Children of the Lost Planet" was a success though, like many new companies, it had meagre audiences. This experience led the company to fall back on performing plays for children. They started to get a good reputation for children's theatre. However, in 1974, the play "Knowledge" was performed and, although over half the audience had walked out, the critical acclaim of Guardian reviewer Robin Thornber led to the Bush Theatre
Bush Theatre
The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...
becoming interested and staging the production.
John Godber
John Godber
John Harry Godber is an English dramatist, known mainly for his observational comedies. In the 'Plays and Players Yearbook' for 1993 he was calculated as the third most performed playwright in the UK behind William Shakespeare and Alan Ayckbourn. He has a wife and 2 children.-Biography:Godber was...
became artistic director in 1984 although at first he was unaware of how much the Hull Truck Theatre was struggling financially. He had been making a good living as a teacher but the idea of being able to produce some of his own works led him to accept the post. He decided that the best way to improve sales and the success of the company was to write a play relevant to its audiences. He wrote "Up n’ Under" a play about the rugby league in Hull which proved to be a success.
One of Hull Truck's most performed and famous plays is John Godber's "Bouncers". This celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2007 and was the final play to be performed before moving to the new venue.
From 1983 the company was based in its venue in Spring Street but a new 440 seat theatre has been built for the company, as part of the St. Stephen's
St. Stephen's Hull
St. Stephen's shopping centre, Hull opened on 20 September 2007 and today it attracts more than 10 million visitors a year. The shopping centre is a brownfield site development in the city centre of Kingston upon Hull, England. It cost £200 million to build and was a key development in the...
development. This has cost £14.5 million and opened on 23 April 2009.
The opening production stated its run on 25 April 2009 and was the premier of the John Godber play Funny Turns.
Hull Truck was the venue chosen to host the launch of Hull's Larkin 25
Larkin 25
Larkin 25 was an arts festival and cultural event in Kingston upon Hull, England, organised to mark the 25th anniversary of the death of the poet and University of Hull librarian, Philip Larkin...
Festival in June 2010.
External links
Other sources
Meyer- Dinkgrafe, Daniel. The Professions in Contemporary Drama. Bristol : Intellect Books, 2003.Kershaw, Baz. The Politics of Performance: Radical Theatre As Culltural Intervention. London : New York Routledge, 1992.
Bennett, John. “Three careful owners: Divergent methodologies and shifting critical perceptions of the Hull Truck Theatre Company.” Studies in Theatre and Performance 26.3 (2006): 273
“Review: Arts: THEATRE: For the love of Godber: Hull Truck hits 30, the Globe dons his pyjamas but Gagarin keeps his boots on at the Barbican.” The Observer 15 July 2001
Hickling, Alfred. Thirty years ago it had no home and next to no audience. Now Hull Truck is a national institution, responsible for some of Britain ’s best- loved plays.” The Guardian 27 June 2001
Shannon, David. “The people’s choice; John Godber. (Features).” Sunday Times 23 January 1994