Hull Unveils Theatre and Performance Programme for 2017

Hull UK City of Culture 2017, details of which are announced today, is a 365 day programme of cultural events and creativity inspired by the city and told to the world.

Divided into four seasons, this national celebration draws on the distinctive spirit of the city and the artists, writers, directors, musicians, revolutionaries and thinkers that have made such a significant contribution to the development of art and ideas.

The first season, Made in Hull, will run from January to March. It will begin on 1 January with a spectacular opening event over seven days. Also called Made in Hull, it is curated by the Hull-born, award-winning documentary filmmaker Sean McAllister, renowned for thought-provoking work, including 'A Syrian Love Story'.

Staged across the city centre, Made in Hull will feature large-scale projections and illumination onto buildings and the historic skyline, moving images and live performance, to tell the story of the last 70 years of the city's life. The first night will culminate in a stunning fireworks display over the Humber, accompanied by a specially created audio-visual soundtrack. The event is free and does not require a ticket.

In the first season and throughout the year Hull 2017 will showcase local talent and the vibrant cultural life of the city and the ideas and creativity across the North. It will also see leading cultural organisations from across the UK joining the city in creative partnerships, including the Arts Council Collection, the Art Fund, BBC, BFI, British Council, the British Museum, Hallé Orchestra, LIFT, London Sinfonietta, National Gallery, National Galleries of Scotland, National Portrait Gallery, Opera North, PRS, Royal Institute of British Architects, Royal Collection, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Shakespeare Company, Serious, Southbank Centre and Tate.

Martin Green, CEO and Director, Hull 2017, said: "Hull has always had a unique cultural voice and in 2017 it will roar. The spirit, the stories and the talent of this city have inspired this national year of celebration. From its artists to its residents through to the city's incredible heritage, Hull will share with the rest of the world what people from here have known all along - this city has contributed significantly to ideas that have changed and enriched the world.

"Today is mainly about the first season, Made in Hull, but there is more to come in the following three. Hull 2017 draws on this city's distinctiveness and the ambition and dynamism of the North, whilst offering an opportunity to reflect on the nation as a whole. Next year will show the power that art has to bring people together, to surprise and delight, to educate and provoke debate - to transform lives. Hull invites the world: everyone back to ours 2017."

Each of Hull UK City of Culture's four seasons has a particular theme connected to the city and its place in the world: Made in Hull (January - March); Roots & Routes (April - June); Freedom (July - September); and Tell the World (October - December).

Theatre and Performance highlights include:

The world premiere of The Hypocrite by award-winning Hull playwright Richard Bean (of One Man, Two Guvnors fame). This riotous comedy is inspired by the life of Sir John Hotham, a historic Hull figure, who in 1642 played an important role as Hull became pivotal to the start of the English Civil War. The Hypocrite launches an outstanding programme of new ambitious commissions at Hull Truck and is a co-commission and co-production with the Royal Shakespeare Company, which will take it to Stratford afterwards (World Premiere: 24 February - 18 March).

Other Hull Truck Theatre highlights include Richard III, a co-production with Northern Broadsides, the unique company founded by Barrie Rutter, which staged its first production (of Richard III) twenty five years ago in a boatshed on Hull's marina (4 -27 May); the world première of Mighty Atoms by Amanda Whittington directed by Hull Truck Theatre's Artistic Director Mark Babych and inspired by the life of Hull's original 'Mighty Atom', world champion boxer Barbara Buttrick (8 June-1 July). In another World Premiere later in the year, for the first time in the main house, Hull Truck's Youth Theatre will produce playwright Bryony Lavery's newly commissioned script based on Dickens' Our Mutual Friend (22-26 August).

TICKETS FOR THE HYPOCRITE GO ON SALE FROM TODAY. For more information go to www.hull2017.co.uk

Major commissions include Blast Theory, whose work blurs the boundaries between real and fictional and will be inviting residents and visitors to Hull to re-imagine the city 80 years into the future as part of 2097: We Made Ourselves Over, a new multi-platform city-wide installation that will run throughout 2017. A partnership with Aarhus, European Capital of Culture 2017.

Another new commission, Flood, is a year-long multi-platform project created by Leeds-based Slung Low and written by James Phillips. It is their most ambitious and experimental project to date, mixing live performance, special effects, digital elements and other platforms to tell a story across an entire year.

Weathered Estates, a contemporary retelling of Euripides' Women of Troy by Zodwa Nyoni will be brought to life by Hull-based The Roaring Girls, a supported company of Hull Truck Theatre in collaboration with the University of Hull. The production, which features playful visuals, music and puppetry, tells the story of four women whose homes are no longer safe places. Directed by Amy Skinner (15-18 February).

The University of Hull will host the National Student Drama Festival for the very first time. The festival has provided a springboard for thousands of theatre makers since it was founded in 1956 with famous alumni including Simon Russell Beale, Michael Attenborough, Sir Antony Sher, Caryl Churchill and Sir Richard Eyre.

Festivals

Hull will be at the forefront of celebrations to mark 50 years since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK, joining forces with the amazing Duckie team to create Festival LGBT 50. Incorporating Hull's annual Pride festivities, a live event at City Hall and a choreographic commission working with Yorkshire Dance, with people of all ages and abilities invited to dance, in celebration of the city's contribution to liberation, tolerance and emancipation around the world.

Each season will host a themed weekend-long festival of events, debate and live music. The first season sees WOW (Women of the World) a festival of talks, debates, music, film, comedy and activism that celebrates women and takes frank look at what stops them achieving their potential. WOW Hull is part of the global movement founded by Jude Kelly six years ago at the Southbank Centre. With over 33 festivals across five continents, WOW is an open and safe place for women, girls, men and boys to inspire, interrogate and bring about necessary and real change.

In June, Where Are We Now? will see Neu! Reekie!, Scotland's cutting edge arts collective bring together a unique gathering of rabble rousers, agitators, thinkers and luminaries from Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England to explore the cultural state of the nations. Freedom Talks in September, led by the Wilberforce Institute for Slavery and Emancipation, will explore the contemporary legacy of the life and work of Wilberforce and the wider abolitionist movement. In December, Hull will host Substance, following a year-long programme of events across the north, in an attempt to explore the cultural soul of the region and the role arts and culture will play as the north rises again.

BBC highlights for Hull 2017 will include a major new spoken word and poetry festival called Contains Strong Language. The four day festival will be held in October 2017 and will be a celebration of both new and existing works. A group of 17 poets, the Hull 17, will be based in the city for the four days of the festival. CBeebies, Northern Ballet and Hull 2017 will collaborate to create a colourful new interactive ballet based on the book The Great Blueness and Other Predicaments by Arnold Lobel. The ballet will be choreographed with children in mind to create a family friendly and accessible experience for all.

British Council, the UK's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, will co-create with Hull 2017, a range of programmes across arts and education during the Freedom and Tell the World seasons.

Throughout the year, Back To Ours will bring performances from artists and companies from around the world directly to the doorstep of communities across Hull. This ground-breaking initiative features three affordable multi-art form festivals during half terms during 2017, including comedy, music, circus, theatre, cabaret, dance and film. Working with producers China Plate and in collaboration with Hull venue partners, Back to Ours will come to schools, community centres, social clubs and other locations in the heart of neighbourhoods.

Also taking place across the year, 60 original projects funded through the Creative Communities Programme will see artists developing projects alongside local people in the heart of communities across Hull. Inspired by local stories, aimed at inspiring creativity and connectedness, it will lead to a wide variety of new work being produced, from site specific installations, to music and performance, to photography and film.

Hull 2017 will also be working with local artists and makers and the other established events that make it a vibrant city for culture, including the multi-arts Freedom Festival; the Humber Street Sesh day of music; the Ensemble 52 curated Heads Up Festival, bringing Contemporary Theatre; Assemble Fest, which brings pop-up theatre and performance to Newland Avenue; and the Humber Mouth commissioning literature festival.

As host to a major national event, Hull is welcoming the world. It is also working with local artists and supporting key events and festivals that already take place in Hull. There is an extensive programme of community engagement, including specially commissioned cultural events in every neighbourhood across the city and up to 4,000 volunteers will take to the streets to welcome neighbours and visitors.

As part of a legacy programme, over 60,000 children and young people across the city will have the opportunity to be involved in Hull UK City of Culture. This includes working with artists in schools and as part of community residencies.

www.hull2017.co.uk @2017Hull #Hull2017

Hull secured the title of UK City of Culture 2017 in November 2013. It is only the second city to hold the title and the first in England. The vision of the Hull 2017 Culture Company, the delivery organisation of the project, is "to deliver 365 days of transformative culture in 2017 through a range of diverse and high-profile events and projects".

The Culture Company is an independent organisation with charitable status, funded both publicly and privately. It has raised £32 million to deliver the programme, with key contributions coming from: Host City - Hull City Council; Principal Partners - Arts Council England, BBC, Big Lottery Fund, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Heritage Lottery Fund, KCOM, KWL, Spirit of 2012, Yorkshire Water and the University of Hull; Major Partners -Associated British Ports, Arco, BP, the British Council, Hull Clinical Commissioning Group, MKM Building Supplies, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Sewell Group, Smith & Nephew and Wykeland Group.

Hull 2017's International Partners are: Aarhus, Denmark, which is European Capital of Culture 2017; Reykjavik, Iceland; Rotterdam, The Netherlands; and Freetown, Sierra Leone (twinned with Hull).

The fireworks display on the first night of Made in Hull (Sunday 1 January 2017) is also free, but will be ticketed in advance. Tickets will be available in late October. To keep updated, please go to www.hull2017.co.uk.

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