Support and inspiration from POETRY

We are delighted to announce our partnership with British fashion brand POETRY who are supporting our mission to make creativity and play a part of every child’s life. This partnership between The Herd and POETRY is also one of shared values around the preciousness and importance of natural materials.

The financial support from POETRY to The Herd will enable us to deliver around 50 days of play activity or theatre to families in the UK in a year. This partnership will extend our reach, bringing more opportunities for joy, connection, and imagination to families who need it most. This is huge for us at The Herd.

POETRY is driven by a desire to make clothing that is a positive choice for customers, people, partners and the planet. Long before sustainability became a mainstream concern, the brand embraced the philosophy of “buy once, buy best”, encouraging customers to invest in timeless, high-quality pieces rather than disposable trends. It uses only natural fabrics – including linen, silk, cashmere hemp and organic cotton – supporting the use of renewable resources and the growth of millions of plants. 

The company sends no waste to landfill and prioritises recycling. No clothing is ever discarded: returns are inspected and resold if suitable, repaired in-house where possible (2,493 items in 2024), and donated to charities. Surplus fabric is repurposed to ensure nothing goes to waste.

POETRY tote bags which have been made with surplus fabric.

POETRY donated props and fabrics from ex-display items in their London stores to our 2025 project REPLAY for Bradford City of Culture. These materials were repurposed for play in our installation made entirely out of waste and recycled materials. The project keeps going and is currently on in London until 12th April 2026. So far, we've have over 14,000 children and their families through the doors, getting joy out of these materials. After the installation, the materials will then feed into our wider play programme of weekly activities in Hull. When things are worn or broken beyond repair for play, they will be recycled.

POETRY has been working in this way since it was founded over 20 years ago. We're hugely inspired by this. REPLAY has changed everything for The Herd. When making art for children, it's impossible not to think about the future and about the moment when these children become adults. A moment that looks increasingly under threat because of the climate emergency. We don't want to scare, or burden children with a problem they played no part in causing, but we know that so much of children’s play provision - toys, soft play, technology - has no consideration for a world with finite resources. We don't want to be part of that, and we want environmental responsibility to be at the heart of what we’re doing.  We now ensure at least 80% of materials we use across all our projects and shows are recycled or from waste.

The Herd Theatre has won the Audience Impact and Innovation Award in Fantastic For Families Awards 2025

The Herd Theatre recognised by the national Family Arts Campaign for their outstanding contribution to family-friendly arts and culture in 2024-25.

The Herd Theatre are thrilled to share that they have won the Audience Impact & Innovation Award in the Fantastic for Families Awards 2025 for Counting Sheeps. These national awards celebrate outstanding opportunities created for families and older audiences to access creative opportunities and enhance wellbeing through arts and cultural activities. Award-winners were selected out of over 135 applications, initially shortlisted to 26 organisations from across the United Kingdom. Each of the shortlisted projects were recognised and celebrated by the Family Arts Campaign through sharing their Stories of Family Arts engagement, ahead of the winners being announced.

The Audience Impact & Innovation Award recognises the achievements of creative organisations or cultural event organisers who have demonstrated innovation and adaptability to reach and make a difference to families in need. The judges for this category were Zoe Dennington, Education Director at Open City, and Karla Barnacle Best, Lecturer at the Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship, Goldsmiths, University of London.

The judges said: “We are delighted to recognise Counting Sheeps as this year’s winner. Its beautifully crafted, sensory-led performance was matched by an impressive co-production process and a truly innovative hyper-local audience development strategy; so successful that 40% of families returned to see the show again! It met every part of our award criteria with clarity, creativity and care.”

Anna Dever, Executive Director of Family Arts Campaign said: “The 2025 Fantastic for Families Awards have once again showcased the remarkable creativity, inclusivity, and dedication of organisations across the UK. This year’s winners stand out for their thoughtful, collaborative approaches and their commitment to ensuring everyone can experience the joy of the arts — co-creating imaginative, inclusive experiences that make a real difference in people’s lives. Congratulations to all our 2025 award winners!”

Ruby Thompson, Co-Artistic Director of The Herd says: “We are over the moon that Counting Sheeps has been recognised for its care for our audiences and for innovation in reaching babies, children and their families. Our priority is reaching children who don’t always have access to excellent artistic experiences. We know Hull doesn’t have long runs of shows like this at its theatres, or much opportunities for early years arts more widely. We spent a lot of time working with babies to make this show, and have a team of dedicated, incredible performers who really cared about the experience of every little one that came. A huge thanks to all the families that came to see it (and especially those that came back to see it again!)”

Fantastic For Families Awards are given by Family Arts Campaign, which is the largest national, cross-art form initiative to increase access to arts and culture for families of all ages. The Family Arts Campaign is funded by Arts Council England and is a National Portfolio Organisation within the national Let’s Create strategy.Visit www.familyarts.co.uk/awards-winners-2025 to find out more and see the full list of Fantastic For Families Awards winners.

Are we allowing childhood in Hull? Observations on childhood after 6 days in the Netherlands

By Ruby Thompson, Co-Artistic Director of The Herd

I went on holiday with my 4 year old to the Netherlands. Seeing a country through the eyes of a child is a fascinating experience, and made me reflect on the cultural differences of childhood.  

Space for play 

Every museum we visited had either a playground outside or a play space. As well as the exhibitions being extremely interactive - dried Zebra poo that you could hold, stuffed animals you could touch, space ride simulators. These elements weren’t sectioned off from the ‘serious’ exhibitions, every room had these considerations. Every area was playful. 

There were spaces for risky play too. A play area at the swimming pool included a climbing wall with buttons that sprayed water in your face. (This one tweaked my anxious parent disposition) 

There are playgrounds and skate parks everywhere. On 20min cycle to the beach we past 6. There were also slides and swings on the beach. Not that children need them for play here - but it felt like a symbol of childhood, a welcome. 

Freedom 

We saw lots of Children playing in public playgrounds without adults. Young siblings around 6 and 3, a 5 year old playing solo with a toy car on a skate park. There were schools without gates. Trusting the children to not escape, and the community around them to respect and protect them. 

Young children on bikes - cliché of Northern Europe - but a symbol of freedom. Babies and toddlers  feeling the wind on their faces, and also young children cycling themselves, given the permission by their grown-ups and the patience of the grown-ups they encountered 

Pre-teens cycling with their friends was commonplace. The proximity of different towns meant they were exploring outside of their community. The cycle paths EVERYWHERE meant this was possible and safe. I saw a handful of helmets the entire time. I’m not saying this is the best approach, but again it feels like a symbol. 

Attitude of adults 

It felt like our child was allowed to just, be. She could talk and sing without bristling adults. She had a full blown meltdown in a cafe and I didn’t feel as much of the pressure or judgment. It was still very hard, but I felt calmer than usual after seeing so many other children expressing emotion in public and seeing the public ignoring and allowing it, without comment.

At a playspace in Amsterdam on the last day, I realised I hadn’t seen an adult were not apologise for their children on the entire trip. A 1 year old, came over to talk to us and to knock down the tower we were building, and their mother doesn’t apologise or tell them off. We enjoyed meeting the 1 year old, our daughter understands they’re much younger and not doing anything ‘mean’ in their destruction. This is supported by the fact the grown ups around aren’t punishing the child for their age appropriate responses. 

There are deep social and political contexts to this of course - it’s not as simple as saying everyone in Hull should pop their babies on bikes tomorrow. There is the infrastructure to cycle everywhere, the world-leading health care to deal with risky play, the public funds to keep the parks safe and tidy and the investment in education to enable children to make sensible decisions when operating in the world.

But the experience made me reflect more on raising a child in Hull. What is she gaining (other than a helmet) and what is she losing? What is the culture of childhood surrounding her? And I wonder what it looks like to a visitor?