Hull Truck's 50th anniversary year continues with an exciting new season opening next month

There is the big bang of the opening of the year and the final flourish – think of the opening and closing ceremonies we recently saw at the Commonwealth Games – but the sticky bit in the middle, when celebrations go on for a full 12 months, how to keep the ball in the air?

Hull Truck Theatre, this year celebrating its 50th anniversary, knows how to maintain the air of festivities, announcing the second half of its anniversary celebrations ahead of the city’s popular Freedom Festival which returns to Hull next week.

Making it to half a century is an impressive achievement for the theatre that began in what was essentially a squat and was run out of the back of a truck (hence the name). The story of Mike Bradwell and his band of merry players was told in typically irreverent and amusing fashion in Richard Bean’s 71 Coltman Street at the start of the year. We now know how the rest of the year will play out, with the season up to December now revealed, but before that there is the not-so-small matter of the Freedom Festival.

The annual festival began 16 years ago and is named to mark the city’s association with the abolition of the slave trade. Based around Princes Dock Street, Old Town and Fruit Market. This year’s nine-day festival is a more concentrated affair than in previous years, but brings work as spectacular as ever from Australian circus performers Gravity and Other Myths to large scale puppetry presented by Cie L’Homme Debout.

Hull Truck Theatre is, of course, a key venue for the festival. Janthi Mills-Ward, executive director at Hull Truck, says: “Freedom Festival is such an exciting part of Hull’s year and we relish being a key venue for the indoor programming bringing new and exciting work to the city.

“We will be opening up our stages to young people across the city to work with La Mechanica presenting The Little Things as well as Arcadia, mixing a live score from Adrian Utley of Portishead and Will Gregory of Goldfrapp, presenting 100 years of archive footage that captures Britain’s countryside.”

Other shows include Will Dickie’s White Sun and a show which comes highly recommended, Bloody Elle, a gig-musical written and performed by the brilliant Lauryn Redding, who audiences will have seen in 71 Coltman Street earlier this year.

Once the Freedom Festival has moved on, September sees the theatre’s regular programme continue along with the celebrations of the half century.

Opening on September 6, Hessle Theatre Company will present Urinetown, the 2001 satirical musical set in a world that has faced a 20 year drought and in which private toilets are banned – perhaps more relevant than ever.

Hull-born poet Maurice Rutherford will see his 100th birthday celebrated with what sounds like a pretty special evening of poetry, songs and stories from around the region. The City Speaks on September 18, will feature a selection of some of Yorkshire’s finest including Lucy Beaumont, Martin Barrass, Eliza Carthy, Roland Gift, Barrie Rutter and Dean Wilson.

One of the UK’s most performed playwrights is local lass Amanda Whittington. Her monster hit, Ladies Day, sparked a trilogy, the final installment of which makes up a part of the coming season.

Following Ladies Day and Ladies Down Under, both hugely popular hits when first presented by Hull Truck, Whittington’s latest, Ladies Unleashed, arrives at the theatre at the end of next month.

Whittington says: “I’d resisted the urge to revisit the Ladies for too long. We began conversations pre-Covid but last year, the time felt right to see where they are and how they were doing. As soon as I started writing, it was like meeting old friends. Our audience will meet them as they are now, in a somewhat turbulent 24-hours on Holy Island. Prepare for laughter, secrets and, let’s hope, a wonderful reunion.”

Having celebrated the origin story of Mike Bradwell in 71 Coltman Street, Hull audiences will meet the work of contemporary Bradwell when Eastendless comes to Truck. Directed by the man who began the theatre, the show tells the story of behind the scenes at London soap Eastenders. The theatre is also staging a huge number of one night shows, with the Larkin Society presenting In Conversation with Rosie Millard and Alan Johnson, comedian Suzi Ruffell is bringing her show Snappy to the theatre and Red Coat tells the story of a Butlins entertainer having something of a breakdown.

The Christmas offerings this year include Jack, Mum and the Beanstalk, a fairytale aimed at younger audiences which will run throughout December, and the major production is a return for A Christmas Carol, a piece that is starting to become an annual favourite at the theatre. This year sees a new director, Sameena Hussain, recently profiled in Culture as one to watch, at the helm.

Executive director Mills-Ward says: “We are very aware of what the future 50 years look like for Hull Truck Theatre, ensuring we lay the ground stones for green shoots of new stories and artists to be part of this journey. It’s been exciting to give focus to female stories and artists in this second half of our 50th year and we are looking forward to developing our new Hull Truck Play Project working with four local writers to explore new stories dug from the heart of our city.”

Highlights of the season

Bloody Elle: Lauryn Redding’s one-woman gig show has gained huge momentum since its debut in Manchester last year. Well worth a watch. August 31.

The City Speaks: An evening of story and poetry that will be particularly special. September 18.

Ladies Unleashed: Amanda Whittington and her story of local ladies having fun in unexpected places is always a winning combination. Sept 29 - Oct 22.

For more information and to book tickets for the above events and more visit hulltruck.co.uk or call 01482 323638.