It is hoped the ‘fragile thread of community memory’ will be kept alive
Ings Library staff, Ings Road estate residents and Beth Murrell, Middle Child’s heritage engagement producer, in Adelphi Close(Image: Tom Arran for Middle Child)
Residents of the Ings Road estate have been invited to work with Hull theatre company Middle Child to create a new mural and explore the history of post-war residential streets named after London theatres, such as the Savoy, Apollo and Adelphi.
Ings Road residents will be instrumental in designing the mural, which will explore the area’s West End theatre links. Partners include Ings Library, Hull History Centre, the National Theatre and local historians.
The 18-month-long arts project, which includes a new Middle Child play, has been funded by a £150,000 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant. The new play, titled Let It Burn, will premiere in 2027 and is about Hull’s forgotten 2,000-seater Theatre Royal which stood on Humber Street until it burnt down in 1859, and again in 1869.
Middle Child heritage engagement producer, Beth Murrell, said: “We are thrilled to have received this support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
“Heritage isn’t only found in grand royal buildings or elite institutions in capital cities: it’s also in theatres built by and for working-class communities, in the fabric of council estate streets and is kept alive by fond memories from local people.
“Thanks to National Lottery players we will be able to save an important but overlooked part of Hull’s cultural heritage, reviving both a forgotten public story and a fragile thread of community memory that is at risk of disappearing altogether.”
The project will include:
- Drawing on the Hull History Centre archives to uncover and celebrate the city’s hidden theatrical heritage
- Creative workshops and oral history recordings with residents of the Ings Road estate, tracing the origins of the street names and the lives of residents, in partnership with the Ings Library
- Walking history tours around Ings Road with local historian, Paul Schofield
- Co-designing a new mural with residents to mark the estate’s historic links to West End theatres, creating a resident-led legacy for the area
- Installation of a new information board on Humber Street to tell the story of the previous Theatre Royal buildings
Helen Featherstone, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “We’re delighted to support Middle Child with their project to share the fascinating cultural heritage of Hull and its surprising links with the West End.
“Hull is a city rich with heritage, and thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, its residents will have the chance to explore its theatrical history and build upon that special heritage through the project’s outputs like the exciting co-created mural.”
Let It Burn will premiere in Middle Child’s new theatre venue at 69 Humber Street in spring 2027, just metres away from the site of the original Theatre Royal.
Written by Sarah Middleton, the play is a “screaming farce” about the unshakeable belief the show must go on and the need to support culture in Hull. Middle Child, a National Theatre Resident Company, will spend four days developing Let It Burn at the National Theatre Studio in London from 4-7 February.
Find out more about the project at middlechildtheatre.co.uk/heritage