Hull Truck doubles audience numbers

Attendances at Hull Truck Theatre have doubled since the move to its new £15m home.

The theatre unveiled the statistics exclusively to the Mail as it celebrated a bumper opening season, despite the recession.

The theatre has sold more than 30,000 tickets between April and August, compared to just over 16,000 during the same period last year – an 89 per cent increase.

This reflects the extra productions the theatre is now able to host.

During the opening season in the Ferensway building, Hull Truck staged 51 events, compared to 22 during the same period last year.

This is only possible because the theatre now has two performance spaces.

As well as 19,709 tickets sold in the main theatre, more than 5,000 tickets were sold for performances in the smaller studio theatre, where comedy and concerts are often held.

Operations director Paul Marshall said: "I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us because without them, we wouldn't exist.

"Their support has been incalculable, whether they have stayed with us from Spring Street, or come to see us for the first time.

"I knew that by moving into a bigger space, our attendance figures would increase, but when we added it up I was gob-smacked.

"The number of performances we have put on has amazed me.

"I think we all had sleepless nights before we opened but the reaction has been fantastic."

Mr Marshall said they were still not at capacity and that he hoped they could perhaps double this figure again.

He said: "It hasn't felt like 51 performances and there is still more space we can capitalise on.

"Although these figures are fantastic, we cannot stop pushing ourselves and get more and more people into the theatre.

"Market research shows there are an awful lot of people who come once a year. We would love to persuade them to double that."

The theatre, a registered charity, receives some funds through organisations such as the Arts Council England.

Mr Marshall said: "We must prove to any publicly-funded body that we are giving them value for money.

"These figures show we can return on that funding and hopefully make a strong case for the future."

National media reports have suggested theatre has defied the economic slump, as people search for a bit of escapism.

Mr Marshall said: "Everybody keeps asking how the recession has affected us, and we have to be truthful and say we just don't know.

"We cannot say we would be selling three times as many tickets because we have never been in this space before.

"What we do know is that nationally, the theatre has not been as badly affected as other industries.

"When work is stressful, people are more precious about how they spend their spare time."