I left Brighton for Hull 40 years ago to study Drama and German at Hull University, and have lived and worked here ever since. Hull in the 70’s was grim, but being at the end of the line gives you a lot of freedom to find your own voice. I got a job with the early ‘wild bunch’ Hull Truck under Mike Bradwell, then started Remould in 1981 with Averil Coult which ran for 16 years. We made plays with and about local people- fishermen, nurses, social workers, the police- all based on their stories and experiences, and we also produced community plays researched and performed by hundreds of city residents. By letting me find my own voice, Hull let me give voice to others- through plays with inmates in prisons, through digital stories at the BBC, and through plays such as ‘Every Time if Rains’ about Hull’s 2007 floods. I’m now working on Freedom To Tell Tales for Freedom Festival, which is all about developing local storytelling talent. In the coming year the Centre for Contemporary Storytelling is going to be busy performing ‘Turning the Tide’, and starting the research and writing for a new Hull community play – a ‘Hull Odyssey’ in partnership with Hull Truck for 2017. I’ve always felt an artist should serve both the source of stories (people, place, culture) and the audience you present those stories to. Hull has stories to tell to the world. Our job is to tell ‘em the best way we can. And being a sometimes pirate can sometimes help.
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You can find out more about Rupert Creed’s work at www.rupertcreed.com
The Changing Face Exhibition preview event is happening on April the 2nd you can book tickets for it by following this link:
http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-changing-face-of-hull-preview-tickets-16160036103?aff=efbevent
Photo © Quentin Budworth
The Changing Face Of Hull 
Remould Theatre Company was amazing. I was lucky enough to work there for 6 months behind the scenes during Steeltown. Creative, caring and truly revolutionary in transforming people’s lives to story and performance. Every issue discussed and considered ahead of time so that interviewees, cast and the staff were all looked after, trained and inspired. Hull lost so so much on the sad day Remould ended. 2017 could do far worse than instigate a new play anout Remould making plays. Their work and the way they did has been a never-achieved benchmark for me – professional community arts is a wonderful thing. They have left a legacy in all the people they helped and imspired along the way. Rupert Creed, Averil Coult, Chris Wade and the others who I can’t remember their names sorry – what a legacy of hard work, smart work, brilliant work!
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