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? 

Words from The Herd's first ever Work Experience Student

Liv spent a week with us as we prepared to go into rehearsals for Counting Sheeps. Here's some reflections on her experience...

What have you been doing this week?

I have been spending this last week doing work experience with The Herd to get a look into their working life.

I have have such a great time with The Herd and they have allowed me to have some brand new experiences as well as being able to look into this type of theatre industry and the different projects they are doing.

During this time with them I have been in their play shop,  seeing how they interact with customers. I looked into venues where performances could possibly happen. I also got to see behind the scenes of how they bring together their new shows.

Having this opportunity with The Herd has allowed me to see possible ideas for my future as well as learn about new things in this industry.

On Monday I spent the morning with them at Hull University looking into lighting and placement for their upcoming show Counting Sheeps! This allowed me to learn about other job roles in the industry. In the afternoon we went to a forest school as The Herd could possibly do a performance there so they wanted to see the environment and work out what performances they could do there.

On the Wednesday morning I was in The Herd's Play Shop in Princes Quay learning about how they run the shop as well as seeing what activities they do with schools (One Day Play, Theatre experience for Primary Schools) as well as seeing all the feedback the children gave about it.

Later on I went with Ruby and Sam to Apus Productions, ran by artists Liz and Ian to see what props they are making for The Herd's upcoming performances but also seeing what they do as their job in general.

Thursday I spent the day in the shop seeing how children interact with toys that aren't your usual toys such as cardboard poles different fabrics but also seeing how they let there imagination run free! Furthermore I created The Herd's TikTok account and even posted them a video, make sure to check it out @TheHerdUK. This showed me the social media side of the Theatre. [A note from Ruby at The Herd: Liv taught us way more about how to use social media, than we taught her!]

On Friday which was sadly my last day I went with the lovely Ruby to their Herd office in Hull Central Library. I made pompoms for possible props and saw the creation of props for rehearsal coming together and even made my own Herd show ideas called The Lonely Fish and The Blooming Butterfly while also creating another Tiktok for The Herd account!

What was the best part of the experience?

I'm unable to pick a best part as I found it all to be super educational while also being fun as it can help give me ideas for future job roles in the theatre industry when I am older.

Is there anything you wished you'd had a chance to do?

I wish I was able to see a Herd rehearsal and experience what it is like during them.

What would you say to another student thinking of doing their work experience with The Herd, or another theatre company?

I would say I hope you enjoy it! It is a lovely experience led by lovely people and that you should make the most out of it as you only get to do it once and you gain lots of knew knowledge from them!

If you're interested in spending your work experience with The Herd, get in touch hello@theherdtheatre.co.uk

THE HERD THEATRE BECOME A CHARITY AND APPOINT NAQIYA EBRAHIM AS CHAIR OF TRUSTEES

The Herd take a leap forward as we become a charity committed to providing high quality arts and theatre experiences to children and families in the Hull region.

Naqiya Ebrahim, The Herd's Chair of Trustees

Hull based theatre company The Herd are now a charity, led by a board of trustees with local, national and international experience of arts, theatre and education.

Ruby Thompson, co-director and founder of The Herd, says “Our new charity status will allow us to create more projects locally and escalate our ambition to deliver world leading, innovative arts experiences for children and families in Hull. We’ve worked with an incredible Steering Board over the last 18 months, who have now become our Board of Trustees. Their passion for our work, and more importantly for the children we work with, has encouraged us to be bolder and more ambitious.

We are absolutely delighted to welcome Naqiya Ebrahim as our first Chair of Trustees at The Herd. Naqiya shares our company mission - a belief that drama, creativity and storytelling can be a powerful agent of change for children, young people and their communities.

Naqiya is the Executive Director of Seenyaro, an award winning international charity specialising in theatre and play-based learning with under-served communities in Lebanon and Jordan. Naqiya’s leadership experience of growing a world leading charity is clearly well suited to the role of The Herd’s Chair. Naqiya’s background in designing and delivering participatory work also allows a shared language and a deep understanding of the purpose of our work at The Herd. We are hugely excited by Naqiya’s outward, international view of the sector.

Chair of Trustees Naqiya Ebrahim says “I am delighted and honoured to be the first chair of The Herd. Having worked in the theatre, education and early years space for many years, I am constantly seeing barriers to children accessing theatre and play in safe, creative, inclusive ways. The Herd's work directly addresses this and does so without using a cookie cutter model.

I love how out of the box their ideas are and how committed Sam and Ruby – the co-founders and directors – are to innovating unique, playful experiences that transcend the templates we've already seen and truly serve the communities they work with. In all my conversations with Sam and Ruby I can see how hard they work to think about what will be the most meaningful experience for the children themselves, how to make sure the young people’s ideas are heard and included and how to make sure no child is left behind in accessing the story or experience.

Even beyond their project output, one of the things that drew me to The Herd was their conscientiousness in thinking about best practice every step of the way. Whether it’s actively working to make sure their hiring practice is inclusive and attracting diverse talent or setting highly ambitious goals for their environmental policy and working to use sustainable materials in all of their projects.

While I am not connected to Hull personally, it hugely excites me to advocate for work outside of London, particularly in the North of the country. Hull was a recent city of culture and it is thanks to organisations like The Herd that it continues to pioneer exceptional arts and culture.

I am excited to work with the brilliant board and team as The Herd continues to make standout theatre and play experiences that challenge our conception of what theatre and play can be and tell the untold stories that champion young voices, all the while making sure that hard to reach audiences are accessing their work.”

The Herd’s Co-Director and founder Sam Caseley adds “We are entering a new and exciting chapter. With our brilliant new board and our excellent new chair Naqiya, we’re set up to make more brilliant art with more children and families than ever before.”

Interested in supporting The Herd's work? We're currently recruiting voluntary board members. Find out more: https://www.theherdtheatre.co.uk/opportunities

Seenyaro is a leading specialist in theatre and play-based learning with under-served communities in Lebanon and Jordan. We use theatre and play to transform education and support people to learn, lead, heal and thrive in their classrooms and communities. Reaching over 110,000 children, youth and women since 2015, Seenaryo is winner of the Arts, Culture & Heritage prize at the 2023 UK Charity Awards, has received a 2023 Innovation Award from Their World and was one of Expo 2020 Dubai’s 120 Global Innovators.

www.seenaryo.org