“It’s a place once you enter, you feel like you belong” Hope Mill Theatre celebrates grant and public support following a rollercoaster ride of a year

The Hope Mill Theatre is a beloved venue in Ancoats and once you step foot inside, you feel like you belong.

The staff are welcoming and care about your experience and you get the chance to be up close, and personal, sitting in this beautifully restored mill, escaping from the world outside watching a musical, play, comedy night or a concert.

The pandemic and post-pandemic provided so many setbacks for the venue and the founders, Joseph Houston and William Whelton.

And they overcame these, with help from theatregoers who donated money to keep their doors open.

Following some disappointing funding news, people did it again recently with a public fundraising campaign.

In a backdrop of arts funding cuts and a system that requires jumping through hoops, only to be told no, the venue has recently been awarded a National Lottery Heritage grant which has been a game changer.

So, you can feel the optimism in the Ancoats air, as you walk towards to the venue.

The building is celebrating its 200th Birthday, and next year The Hope Mill Theatre will have been up and running for 10 years. So, we caught up Joseph to find out what’s in store, how the money will be spent, the venue’s new season and to find out more about First Curtain, which supports working class young people to provide them with their first theatre visit.

Following a rollercoaster of a year, how does it feel to be awarded the National Lottery Heritage grant?

It has certainly been a rollercoaster year, which has included many challenges, and at one stage we really struggled to secure grant funding. As a result, we launched a major public fundraising campaign, which raised over £70,000, which was truly overwhelming and allowed us to continue our programme and outreach work.

2024, has already been a much more positive start to the year for us, and the funding from National Lottery Heritage Grant is much welcomed.

How will the Heritage Grant be used?

The funding will be used to support a wide range of Hope Mill Theatre’s Outreach and Community Programme.

It will support a week of Summer School for Young People, which will be steered towards learning about the history of the building and the area.

It will also relaunch our Play Reading Group, and allow us to purchase electronic reading devices, meaning we can be completely paperless.

Some of the funding will also be used in the early part of next year to support our annual LGBTQ+ festival Turn On Fest with a focus on historical queer stories.

The grant will also go towards new signage for the venue, as well as commissioning an artist to re design our foyer area.

We are also working with a Researcher, who will gather stories from local people as well as explore more the history of the building and local area, which will be displayed as part of an Open Evening with AWOL studios later this year.

The highlight of the funding period will be the bank holiday weekend in August, which will include a free family fun day in the grounds of Hope Mill, as well as a Makers Market and food and drink day.

Tell us a bit more about the Family Fun Day. What can people expect?

With the family fun day, we wanted to create a Victorian style summer fair, as it would have been back over 200 years ago.

In the grounds of Hope Mill, we will have attractions such as a Helter Skelter, Chairoplanes, Swing Boats, as well as a petting farm and Donkey Ride.

There will also be a hook-a-duck stall, coconut shy and skittle alley.

As part of celebrating the history of the ice-cream cone being invented in Ancoats, Manchester, we will also be giving out free ice creams to all attendees.

It was important for us to make this weekend completely free to attend.

You remain committed to First Curtain, how many children and young people do you hope to support with their first trip to the theatre and how can people help?

We launched our First Curtain Scheme, as a way of giving children their first theatre experience.

Since launching in 2020 we have given away over 5,000 free tickets to Hope Mill productions.

We strongly believe that theatre should be for everyone, and young people should not be impacted by financial barriers.

This year we are looking to give away 1500 free tickets to young people across Manchester to come and watch our festive production of A Christmas Carol the musical, playing at the Quays Theatre, Lowry.

People can donate to this scheme through our website or alternatively we will be taking part in the Big Give Campaign, looking to raise £30,000. Information on this can be found on our socials.

Lastly, what is coming up in the new season that you are looking forward to seeing?

Later this year, we have a lot of really exciting productions including our own as well as Manchester made and touring productions.

We are thrilled to welcome back Awkward Productions with their Gwyneth goes Skiing, direct from the Edinburgh Fringe and a sell-out London run.

I am directing a brilliant new play, Husk, written by Rupert Hill which will play late September. LIZZIE the musical is coming back in October, which was a massive hit with Manchester audiences last year, before it embarked on a UK tour and played London.

And whilst we have our production of A Christmas Carol the musical running at The Lowry, Hope Mill will host our first adult panto, Tinderella, which is going to be a brilliant night out.

As always, there are a lot of exciting shows in the works for 2025, which will be our 10th year!

Hope Mill Theatre family fun day tickets

Hope Mill Theatre’s Family Fun Day is on Saturday 24th August, and you can book tickets here

The Maker’s Market follows on Sunday 25th August and it is free but please book here

And if you wish to help them bring 1,500 local children to the theatre for the first time, with their brilliant First Curtain scheme, more details can be found here