OUGD601 - Practical - Research Findings on HUB

What is HUB?

• Holbeck underground ballroom
• Less of a theatre, and more a multi-dimensional experience.
• Home of Slung Low, an award-winning theatre company specialising in unusual places.
• Community theatre space.
• The HUB is also a rehearsal and workshop space, which we make available to those making performance in the region who have need of it.
• They invite exciting new work from other companies and present them to an audience.
• Run and owned by one of the country's brightest young directors, who has appeared on "ones to watch" lists for a couple of years now, Lane is an excitable kind of a man and when he is exclusively revealing the fruition of a project which has been close to his heart for several years, the enthusiasm is wildly infectious.
• Lane is the artistic director of Slung Low, a theatre company which has won a rave review in the New York Times, a residency at London's Barbican Theatre and the Samuel Beckett theatre award in its short history.
• The HUB is a performance and creation space for young theatre artists across Yorkshire.
• we wanted to provide a space for all the other exciting artists we know are working in Leeds and around Yorkshire." 

Where is it?

• The venue nestles under old arches in a wasteland of post-industrial abandon in Holbeck.
• It is situated on the south bank of Leeds - an area going through mass development and gentrification.
• From the outside, not inspiring, next to wasteland and a garage.
• But once you are in, a series of dark caves with twinkly lights – bar area, eating and meeting room, the stage itself.
• It is situated on the sight of a historically well known local public house 'The Lavender' Whose landlord had and landlady had an openly lavender marraige. 
• It was the first gay pub in Leeds.

What can you see there?

• The HUB offers a regular performance programme, embracing high quality work which might otherwise not be seen in the city.
• The performance – a triple bill from the Birmingham European BE Festival, currently beetling all over the country and beyond , on a whistle stop “Best of BE” tour.
• This event was an interesting one; college music tech students were recording ‘Buffalo Bones‘ (one of the stand out bands of the BBC Introducing show)
• “The HUB is building an envious reputation as one of the leading platforms to show off the best cutting edge theatre from around the UK…”

Manifesto - What makes it unique?

• The emphasis is on conversation and a shared experience.
• A perfect antidote to the solitary consumption of culture, too common in our digital age.
• All shows at the HUB are ‘Pay What You Decide’ -you give the amount of money you think is right after you see the show and 100% box office goes directly to the visiting artists.
• 'In these times committing to see a piece of theatre isn't the easiest of choices, so we will always welcome you as warmly as we can, the kettle will always be on, and because everyone has different circumstances as many of our shows as possible will be "pay what you decide"-you give the amount of money you think is right after you see the show.'
• The idea that a company which made performance throughout the country also had the desire to be a bigger part of its home city’s cultural activity. 

Other Info

• Arts Council Yorkshire has provided Slung Low with enough funding to run the building, which will cost 30,000 a year, for the first 12 months. Lane, a true pragmatist, is determined to make the project self-funded. "We will be able to say to some artists: 'You want to make work, we have a space, come use it for free', but we will also have clients who will be able to afford to pay for the space and we hope to finance the whole thing in that way, with help from the Arts Council.
• n January 2013 Slung Low were joined by Paul Cooper as HUB and General Manager. This mission statement was expanded to focus energy on presenting more visiting work at the HUB and a commitment to offer as many events as possible on a “Pay What You Decide” basis- the audience paying what they can afford on the way OUT of a performance.

Visitor Comments

• “Just had a terrific and different Sunday afternoon sat under railway arches in Leeds, escaping into five different worlds…..The surroundings are unique, the price is right and the event was wondrous. Everyone should seek out SlungLow or Google the Holbeck Underground Ballroom…”
• “…..Slung Low ‘s Hub is looking beautiful & welcoming, the most unique Yorkshire theatre space….”
• “Love that after 8 years of going to events in Leeds it’s still possible to happen upon places like Holbeck Underground Ballroom”
• “What a welcoming & generous vibe the HUB has”
• “Cant believe it was my first time at SlungLow. Beautiful space.”
• “Loved the show tonight – Sunday is the new theatre day.”