Always on
This project successfully funded on 29th January 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
Children of the Night - 2026 Tour
Doncaster, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Aim
Help us take Donny dance floors to national stages! Touring Children of the Night - high-quality theatre championing working-class stories.
A PLAY, A POEM, AND A PARTY
Help us take this love letter to Doncaster to stages across the UK.
We're Mad Friday Productions—two Doncaster-born women on a mission to bring Children of the Night to audiences nationwide.
We need your help to raise towards our final target to make this tour happen to its fullest potential.
THE STORY
A clubland coming-of-age story.
Children of the Night follows Lindsay Jenkins, a young Donny lass with an A in English, a thirst for rave and £4.25 for the taxi home.
Amidst the chaotic finale of 90s nightlife, the backdrop of post-Thatcher Britain and during the UK's first heterosexual HIV cluster, Children of the Night is a love letter to the working-class cultural pulse of the North, mixing kitchen-sink drama with dance-floor euphoria.
This is the collective story of over 30 Doncaster residents who shared their memories, their pain, and their pride with us through interviews in 2018. It's about friendship, loss, grief, survival—and the life-affirming power of a good night out.
WHERE WE'VE BEEN
Children of the Night premiered at Cast Doncaster in 2023 to sell-out audiences. People left feeling "optimistic," "nostalgic," and "with a belly full of Northern pride."
The 2023 production reached over 800 audience members with 80% being first-time theatregoers.
Since then, the play has been:
✨ Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Playwriting
✨ Shortlisted for New Diorama's Untapped Award
✨ Selected in the top 9% of the BBC Open Writers Call
We've had interest from TV production companies for a future on-screen adaptation and venue programmers across the UK.
The demand is there. The story is ready. We just need your help to get it to the finish line!
WHERE WE'RE GOING
Spring 2026 Tour - Five venues across the UK:
🎭 Cast, Doncaster
🎭 The Lowry, Salford
🎭 Hull Truck Theatre
🎭 Birmingham Rep
🎭 Southwark Playhouse, London
Your support will fund:
💜 High-quality production - Ensuring professional standards, paying artists fairly, creating a show Doncaster can be proud of
💜 Partnership work with Terrence Higgins Trust - Post-show Q&As, information stands, and signposting to local HIV testing and support services at every venue
💜 Accessible performances with BSL interpretation ensuring more audiences can experience the work
💜 Community engagement in Doncaster - Creative arts events curated by young people, bringing together different generations for conversation and celebration
💜 Creative commissions - Supporting 5 Doncaster-based writers to develop new work inspired by the play's themes
WHY THIS MATTERS
For Doncaster:
This is a local story, told with pride and ambition. It challenges stereotypes, celebrates ordinary people, and shows that Doncaster has always been full of extraordinary stories that deserve national platforms.
For important conversations:
By partnering with the Terrence Higgins Trust, we're creating space for open, informed conversations about sexual health and HIV awareness. Every performance will include opportunities for audiences to access information and support services in their local area.
For working-class representation:
Only 26% of people from working-class backgrounds attended theatre last year, compared to 51% from middle-class households. We're making high-quality theatre that's FOR us, BY us, ABOUT us—and proving that Northern stories can compete with anything created in London.
For the next generation:
Through our community engagement programme, young people in Doncaster will curate creative events, gaining skills in arts production while creating meaningful experiences for their community. We're also commissioning 5 local writers, creating opportunities for the next wave of Doncaster storytellers.
WHO WE ARE
Mad Friday Productions is founded by Danielle Phillips and Lauren Yvonne Townsend — two childhood friends from Doncaster who were tired of Doncaster voices and stories being overlooked.
Danni is a Neurodiverse Actor/Writer/Producer. Her career spans over a decade specialising in new writing both in the commercial, subsidised and fringe sectors. In 2024, she was presented with an Ian Charleson Awards commendation, for her work with Shakespeare's Globe. Previously, she was the recipient of the 'Spotlight’s Most Promising Award' and shortlisted for the 'Women’s Playwriting Prize for Playwriting'. Danni has worked with organisations including: Lung Theatre, Sky Comedy, Apple TV, The BBC, The Royal Court, Birmingham Rep, Hull Truck, China Plate and Shakespeare's Globe.
Lauren is a Creative Producer who's worked on the Olivier Award-winning West End production Standing At The Sky's Edge (Associate Producer) and the premier production of Tony Award-winning Life of Pi (Assistant Producer) at Sheffield Theatres. She’s a 2023 Developed With Artist @ The Lowry, a Stage One 2025 Bursary recipient and has recently extended her training to include producing on Broadway.
We don't believe in doing anything by halves. We're building a company that champions Northern, working-class, and neurodiverse voices—and we're doing it from Doncaster.
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All images from 2023 Production @ Cast, Doncaster - Photos by Sam Taylor Photography
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made