Dear Hull,
I’m writing to say thank you for responding so unequivocally since my previous letter.
In that piece, I explained how our ticket sales for Baby, He Loves You were well below what we’d hoped, with 32% of tickets sold just one week from opening.
Since then, we have been absolutely blown away by the response, with so many of you sharing the post, shouting about the show, booking tickets and a number of groups and individuals even donating so that people who couldn’t otherwise afford it could see the show. It has been nothing short of incredible and everyone at Middle Child has been really moved by it all.
Now, as Baby, He Loves You closes, we’re delighted to say that we have reached 111% of our income target, selling 532 more tickets than what we sold for our show this time last year, Modest, and with thanks to a number of anonymous donors who paid for free tickets to be shared with people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend.
Not only that, but we have also been completely stunned by the volume, positivity and enthusiasm of your feedback at shows and online. It is safe to say that this has been one of our most positively received shows to date, and we’re absolutely delighted.
Thank you for supporting new writing, and taking time out to come and watch the show. It is important to say that while the sales for this show have been a huge boost, times remain tough for Middle Child, for theatres and theatre companies like us.
We know letters like this one and urgent appeals aren’t sustainable long-term and urge you to continue valuing and supporting live performance however and whenever you can.
We still have a £40,000 fundraising target to meet this year both through private fundraising and our pay what you can supporters’ scheme. Your support helps us to better make our case to funders during increasingly competitive funding rounds and the feedback we’ve received on this show proves the value of our work – and of the importance of locally-rooted new writing in general.
In the interest of paying it forward, we’d love to highlight some other new work and theatre companies in Hull, which equally deserve your support:
Dead Girls Rising – Maureen Lennon / Silent Uproar, 4-7 June at the Welly Club
Guts! The Musical – Maureen Lennon / Hull Truck Theatre, 29 June-6 July at Hull Truck Theatre
There’s also going to be plenty more opportunities to support new plays by local writers at our upcoming Fresh Ink Hull playwriting festival, which begins this July. Sign up to our newsletter to make sure you get all the info straight to your inbox!
Thanks again, Hull. We love you and will continue working our arses off to create ambitious and high-quality new work which speaks directly to the people of this city.
Cheers,
Paul Smith, artistic director and CEO, Middle Child
