She Productions 2026 Round-Up Blog

Ten years old and busier than ever: our 2026 so far

What a year. In 2026 She Productions turned ten, threw a party, raised nearly £2,000, welcomed our very first Friends, and worked with more people across Hull and the East Riding than ever before. And with rehearsals for our brand-new Christmas musical starting on 9th November, we're not slowing down yet.

Here's a look back at everything we've been up to, and a peek at what's coming next.

10 Years of She Productions

On Sunday 14th June we celebrated a decade of She Productions at North Ferriby Village Hall, and together you raised a fantastic £1,851.67 for the charity.

The afternoon was packed with musical bingo, live performances and storytelling, looking back at ten years of bold, original theatre led by Northern female voices. We were joined by East Riding-born actor and musician Jo Patmore and our Musical Director Natalie Walker, and we revisited the shows, people and places that have shaped us along the way.

It all started in 2015, when six women (Jessica Duffield, Annie Kirkman, Alice Rose Palmer, Hannah Levy, Rachel Barnes and Ellie Claughton) decided that Northern women's stories deserved a place on stage. Ten years on, we've brought live theatre to over 18,000 people, run workshops for over 3,000 participants, and given paid work to more than 200 freelance creatives from Hull and the East Riding.

Every penny raised went straight back into our work. Thank you to everyone who came and joined us in celebrating a decade of She Productions. Here's to the next ten years!

Introducing the Friends of She Productions

The party was also where we launched Friends of She Productions, a way for our audiences to support us all year round.

For just £4 a month, the same as one ticket to our Christmas show, Friends get priority booking, exclusive updates, an invitation to our Christmas dress rehearsal, and the knowledge that they're helping to build our next decade. Over a year, that's the equivalent of gifting 12 tickets to our accessible family Christmas tour.

Everyone who has signed up so far will always be one of our Founding Friends: the very first people to believe in what we're building. Thank you. If you'd like to join them, become a Friend here.

The Big Malarkey Choir

The Big Malarkey Choir was launched this summer, bringing young people together to write and perform their own original musical theatre song at Hull's much-loved children’s literature festival.

Working with Hull Libraries and The Big Malarkey Festival, Musical Director Natalie Walker, Movement Director Annabelle Moorman and Co-Artistic Director Alice Rose Palmer led the young people from East Park Primary School through professional-style rehearsals, from finding harmonies to building the confidence to perform on a festival stage in East Park.

This year's choir created their very own song, Travel Far and Wide. We're so proud of every one of them, and we're thrilled that the performance will feature in Hull Libraries' Reading Influencer Campaign in January 2027. Watch this space!

Finding Your Voice: nine years strong

In July, our flagship confidence and communication programme Finding Your Voice ran for the ninth year, ending in a moving sharing at East Riding Theatre in Beverley on Friday 24th July.

Delivered with East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Adult Learning and Employability Services, the course gives adults a week of drama, storytelling and performance workshops. For many participants it's their first time on a stage. Over 100 graduates have gone on to volunteering, education or employment since the programme began.

The impact speaks for itself. In our most recent independently verified cohort:

•        100% reported improved mental health

•        100% reported reduced social isolation

•        100% learnt new skills

•        90% reported increased community participation

•        £3.51 of social value was generated for every £1 invested (verified by the Social Value Engine, accredited by Social Value UK)

"I didn't believe I could do it. It is the first time I've ever done anything like this, and sometimes you need to take a pause and realise your voice matters too." (Finding Your Voice participant)

STEP UP STAND OUT at HETA

This September we were back at HETA (Humberside Engineering Training Association), delivering workshops as part of their induction programme, a partnership that has now been running for several years.

Each year, our workshops help young people (16-24yrs) starting out in engineering find their voice as they begin their careers, with the confidence to speak up, work as a team and present themselves well. Theatre skills are life skills, and it's brilliant to see them land outside the rehearsal room. Thank you to HETA for having us back, and here's to many more intakes to come.

In Our Own Words, with Hull Women's Aid

This year we began In Our Own Words, a new project in partnership with Hull Women's Aid that puts the real experiences of survivors of domestic abuse on screen, in their own words.

Over six weeks, women supported by the charity took part in creative writing, filmmaking and drama workshops to explore and shape their own stories. The project was led by actor/facilitators Hannah Levy, Alice Rose Palmer, and Alison Shaw, supported by the University of Hull, with professional filmmaker Katie Harriman, founder of Fly Girl Films, and drama therapist, Tilly Harper, founder of Create Joy as partners. The film will be shared at a private screening, then go on to feature at Hull Women’s Aid’s AGM, partner conferences, and fundraising events; showing the impact of their work and raising the voices of the women they support.

The partnership means a lot to us. Our very first show was a sell-out production of The Vagina Monologues at East Riding Theatre, which raised £4,000 for Hull Women's Aid in 2015. Eleven years later, we're proud to be working alongside them again, using theatre to give women a platform with care, dignity and choice at every step. As a White Ribbon Supporter Organisation, we're committed to ending violence against women and girls, and this project is part of that promise.

Coming this December: It's Tinsel Time!

Rehearsals start on 9th November for It's Tinsel Time!, our brand-new Christmas musical, touring Hull and East Riding libraries, schools and community spaces across from 1st to 24th December. Audiences may recognise Tina Tinsel from The Fairy Who Fell Off the Christmas Tree, and Bauble Town and this year she finally takes centre stage.

Little Frankie loves performing. But when the school Christmas show means reading aloud in front of everyone, the butterflies feel more like snowstorms. At bedtime, Mum spins a story brought to life by the Christmas decorations themselves: Tina Tinsel, Wrapping P and the whole gang at Sleigh Bell Stage School, who discover that finding your own way to shine is the bravest spotlight of all.

Frankie's story came from real children. Working with Dyslexia Sparks, we ran creative workshops at Hull Truck Theatre where children with dyslexia shared their experiences of reading aloud, their creativity and their imaginations. Those conversations shaped the story, the characters and the songs. Arriving in the National Year of Reading, the show carries one simple message: reading and stories belong to everyone.

•        30+ performances across Hull and the East Riding, 1st to 24th December

•        £4 tickets, so cost is never a barrier

•        Relaxed and accessible by design, for ages 4+ and their grown-ups

•        Free and subsidised performances for local schools, Hull Women's Aid and Hull Royal Infirmary's Children's Ward

The show is directed by Jessica Duffield, with returning cast members Frankie Turton, Della Maylan, Mariana Barbera and Hannah Levy. Venues are small, so book early at ticketsource.com/she-productions. You can also pay it forward by adding an extra ticket when you book, helping fund free performances for children who might otherwise miss out.

It's Tinsel Time! is made in partnership with Dyslexia Sparks and East Riding Libraries. A massive thank you to our supporters: East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Beverley Town Council, Arts Council England, People's Postcode Lottery, I AM Fund, The Horncastle Family Foundation, Morco, Two Cats Tax, Neill & Brown Global Logistics, Sobananapenguin, Hull Libraries and the Friends of She Productions.

Thank you

None of this happens without you: our audiences, participants, partners, funders, sponsors and, now, our Friends.

There are plenty of ways to be part of what comes next:

•        Book for It's Tinsel Time! at ticketsource.com/she-productions

•        Become a Friend for £4 a month

•        Become a Corporate Sponsor, with business packages from £250.

For any of these, email our community fundraising lead, Hannah Levy, at hannah@sheproductions.co.uk, and follow us on Instagram @sheproductionstheatre and Facebook (She Productions Theatre Company) for news and behind-the-scenes from rehearsals.

Here's to the next ten years. See you this Christmas!

The She Productions Team