The Hope Mill Theatre is an independent theatre in Ancoats, Manchester, England that performs original and revival plays, musicals and other events. The theatre is located in the Hope Mill building, a Grade II* listed converted textile mill. It won Fringe Venue of The Year at The Stage awards in 2018. Hope Mill Theatre is the main work of the registered charity A Factory of Creativity.
History Joseph Houston and William Whelton built on their training in London theatre to create a theatre modelled on the Off West End Theatres which dominate the London theatre scene. They created a small producing venue in Manchester and opened Hope Mill Theatre in November, 2015.
Whelton and Houston serve as respectively Executive and Artistic director of the theatre. In 2016 they won the Hospital Club Award for their contribution in Theatre and Performance and in 2017 they were also awarded a Special Achievement Award at the Manchester Theatre Awards.
Katy Lipson, founder of Aria Entertainment, was the artistic director at the Hope Mill for several years, also producing many of the show staged at the venue, from Rags to Mame.
The Hope Mill Theatre is now a registered charity, under the name "A Factory of Creativity", but continues being called with its original name. Whelton and Houston remain in their directors' roles and a board of trustees has also been appointed, to help support and guide the charity.
Since 2020 the venue also hosts the "Turn on Fest", a LGBTQIA+ theatre festival, every year for two weeks, with live performances. The festival is usually run in collaboration with Superbia, Manchester Pride’s year-round programme of arts and culture. Every year the festival showcases different work and local queer theatre companies (in 2021 the full programme was held online).
In 2020 - Qweerdog Theatre presented ‘Absolute Certainty?’, revived for the festival after performing at the Great Manchester Fringe. In 2021 - the festival was held online and events were mostly discussions with various artists, including Divina De Campo. 2022 - "The Regulars", a musical produced and developed by Hope Mill Theatre in collaboration with Trans Creative 2023 - headline event was "A Conversation with Jill Nalder: Actor, Activist, Author and inspiration behind Russell t Davies’ critically acclaimed drama It’s a Sin".
Values The mission of the Hope Mill Theatre is to "enrich, educate and entertain the community by providing a uniquely superior theatre experience; allowing both audiences and artists alike to be inspired, ambitious and to share stories and enlighten lives through the power of theatre."
Hope Mill team The Hope Mill Theatre is supported by volunteers who cover both front of house and back of house roles in the venue. Front of house volunteers welcome guests, check tickets and show ticket holders to their seats.
The venue also hosts yearly work experience high school and university students who are looking to pursue a career in the arts.
Production history + Opening year Name 2016Parade2016Hair, 50th Anniversary2017YANK!2017Pippin2017Little Women2018 The ToyBoy Diaries2018Spring Awakening2018Closets2018Aspects of Love2018Putting It Together2018The Return of the Soldier2019Club Mex2019Rags2019Mame2019Mame2019The Astonishing Times of Timothy Cratchit2020Zorro: The Musical2020Godspell: 50th Anniversary Concert (online)2020RENT (2020, closed due to COVID-19, August 2021)2021The Wiz2022Passion2022Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella2023Head over Heels2023To Wong Foo: The Musical2023LIZZIE2024Gypsy: In Concert (at the Opera House)2024The Gap2024A Christmas Carol (at The Quays Theatre)2025Glorius!2025Young Frankenstein2026Little Shop of Horrors
Awards +YearAwardCategoryResultRef2016The Hospital Club AwardsTheatre and Performance 2017Manchester Theatre AwardsSpecial Achievement Best Fringe Production (for Moth) Peter Brook AwardEmpty Space Peter Brook Award The Stage AwardsFringe Theatre of the Year 2018The Stage AwardsFringe Theatre of the Year 2023Whatsonstage AwardsBest Regional Production, for To Wong Foo The Musical
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