Theatre Hullabaloo

We’ve won the ‘Best Family Arts Activity Award’ in the Fantastic For Families Awards 2024!   We’re over the moon to have been recognised for our outstanding contribution to family-friendly arts and culture in 2023-24 for our family arts festival, Hullabaloo in the Park (2023). This award feels particularly special to us as we believe that creativity should be a part of everybody’s childhood. These national awards celebrate outstanding opportunities created for families and older audiences to access creative opportunities and enhance wellbeing through arts and cultural activities. Hullabaloo in the Park 2023 was a 5-day family arts festival, filling South Park in Darlington with bug and beastie themed spaces of creative activity, accompanied by walkabout entertainment, food, and a range of BSL and neurodivergent friendly offers – all hosted by artists and staff trained in family-friendly practices. The festival featured over 263 interactive performances, music activities, storytelling, spoken word workshops, creative play environments, geocaching trails, forest schools, and more. We’re so grateful for everyone in the Hullabaloo in the Park team and we’d like to say a huge thank you to our sponsors who made it possible for Hullabaloo in the Park to take place: Tees Valley Combined Authority, Darlington Borough Council, Arts Council England, Darlington4Culture and Creative Darlington. Charlie Kemp, Tees Valley Combined Authority Head of Creative Place, said: “I am delighted that Theatre Hullabaloo has been honoured with this award, which is fantastic recognition of a brilliant organisation and the outstanding impact it is having on local families. “Tees Valley Combined Authority is proud to support Theatre Hullabaloo as part of our objective of delivering vibrant, positive and inclusive events which bring joy to our region.” We're currently working on lots of exciting projects to bring even more creativity to children and their grown-ups, so watch this space!

We’ve been shortlisted for the 2024 Fantastic for Families Awards for Best Family Arts Activity: Hullabaloo in the Park! Winners will be announced on the 28th November, so wish us luck! In the meantime, discover our story and 25 more from across the UK on the Family Arts Campaign website: https://lnkd.in/eDtF5SiS Each year the Fantastic for Families Awards celebrate the best creative opportunities, activities, and initiatives for families and older people from across the UK. #26StoriesofFamilyArts #FantasticForFamiliesAwards2024

We still have a couple more slots available if you'd like to book on :-)

💃Chiffonnade Artist and Researcher Workshop💃 Are you an Artist or Researcher working in the field of performance for the very young? Do you have an interest in dance theatre? Are you available on Thursday 14th November 2024? Theatre Hullabaloo is offering 20 FREE places on a workshop with the company behind the internationally acclaimed dance show for early years, Chiffonnade. These will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis to artists based in the North East with an interest in theatre for young audiences. You will learn more about the making of Chiffonnade, dance theatre for younger children, the show’s journey around the globe and the international collaborations that have made it happen!  The session will take place at The Hullabaloo, Darlington on Thursday 14th November 2024, from 3.00pm – 5.00pm. Places are free and refreshments and food will be provided, but any travel and accommodation costs will need to be met by participants.  If you are interested in attending, please email info@theatrehullabaloo.org.uk asap and tell us the following information;- Your name  Your email address and telephone number  Tell us where you are geographically based  Tell us about any access needs or dietary requirements you have  Tell us anything else you think we might need to know to support you to take part in the workshop. And it gets better! If you are attending the workshop lecture, we’d also like you to take the opportunity to see Chiffonnade at The Hullabaloo. A complimentary ticket will be available for the 1pm performance on 14th November 2024. In the event that the workshop session is over-subscribed, priority will be given on a first-come-first served basis. If you are given a place and then find you cannot attend, please let us know so we can offer it to someone else. Date: Thursday 14th November 2024   Time: 1.00pm Chiffonade Performance   2.00pm refreshments and networking  3.00pm – 5.00pm Workshop   Venue: The Hullabaloo Rehearsal Studio, Darlington, DL1 1SG Participants: 20 artists and / or researchers with an interest and practice in performance for younger children and / or dance theatre.  Cost: Workshop is free to participants who will be allocated a place on a first-come-first-served basis and refreshments are also provided, as is a complimentary ticket to see Chiffonade at The Hullabaloo. Travel costs and any accommodation costs are to be met by participants. 

We'd love you to come along to The Hullabaloo on the 9th October for the North East Family Arts Network training session on 'How to build audiences for accessible events'. It's free for members or there's affordable tickets for non-members. We hope to see you there! https://lnkd.in/eH9PD8GB

We would like to say a HUGE Hullabaloo thank you to all of our sponsors for their generosity. Without their funding and support we wouldn't be able to run our Hullabaloo in the Park family festival and we wouldn't be able to present the entire programme for free! Thanks to them, families from across the Tees Valley and beyond have been able to enjoy over 30 different kinds of creative activities and shows without having to spend a penny!

Just 1 week to go until Hullabaloo in the Park! From the 26-28 July we will be transforming Darlington’s beautiful South Park into a magical land of creativity and fun! Families and friends will be able to enjoy an incredible range of top notch artists and 30+ fantastic things to see, make and do at our family festival - without paying a penny! It’s the perfect way to kick-start the summer holidays for 0-10s and their grown-ups. Across the weekend festival goers can enjoy: - live performances and music - super storytelling sessions - unique play experiences - captivating dance - weird and wonderful walkabout acts - arts and crafts - pre-booked neurodivergent sessions - the regions best food and drink (at reasonable prices) - and much more! From Mad Hatter’s tea parties and crafting along in interactive shows to rolling your sleeves up for messy play, there’s something for everybody to enjoy! It’s worth mentioning again that all the shows and activities are totally free to attend!  There's no need to book and you can just drop-in to the things you fancy. The Wilding Workshop, Build a Bird craft workshop and Create a Crown workshop will need to be signed up for at their stage at the beginning of each day. Car parking is available for just £5 per day. Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to have lots of fun with your family this summer! Find out more: https://bit.ly/HITP24 #HITP24 #FamilyFestival #CreativityForEveryone #SummerFun 

Today is International Day of Play! As you probably already know, Theatre Hullabaloo are big advocates of creative play time. Play opens up a whole world of possibilities. It is the way that young children learn to investigate and understand the world around them. Shared play time with parents and carers helps children to grow and develop - most importantly, its lots of fun! We have oodles of opportunities to play creatively at The Hullabaloo and beyond! From lots of fun in our Creative Play installations across the Tees Valley, getting stuck into our ‘Play in the Everyday’ sessions or learning how to play confidently alongside grown-ups in our social prescribed programmes or at home with our Hullabaloo Baby Play Packs, we’ve got it covered! Join us for our summer of playtime fun at our family festival 'Hullabaloo in the Park' and come along to our play experiences at The Hullabaloo over the summer holidays. https://lnkd.in/ecGdjYne We can’t wait for you to come and play with us soon!

We've been featured in The Times and The Sunday Times 'Top holiday hotspots and hidden gems' online article for Hullabaloo in the Park! Discover what they had to say about our free family-friendly festival that takes place in Darlington's beautiful South Park from 26-28 July. Click here for the article: https://bit.ly/3x5qyJK and we can't wait to see you at the festival soon!

Can you help us reach more children in the North East by donating to us via Big Gives's ArtForImpact campaign today? If you donate to us before midday on the 26th March Big Give will DOUBLE your donation! Donate here: https://bit.ly/3IFqNgW Below, read our CEO Ben Dickenson's important message on why this campaign is so important for us.