Grue – FAQs
Useful information about Grue, a magical, family-friendly experience at Damart Mill.
What is Grue?
Grue is a family-friendly, walk through experience and community engagement project with an environmental message at its heart. Communities in Bradford have made many of the items that you will see in Grue, which have been curated into an immersive experience made entirely from recycled and repurposed materials. Grue also features lighting, sound and live performers.
How do I get there?
Use our sustainable travel planner below to plan your route to Grue.
To access Damart Mill for Grue please enter via Bradley Street. Do not use the main Damart Mill car park entrance on Lime Street.
Entrance location what3words: defrost.endlessly.outnumber
Who is Grue for?
The piece is magical and immersive and is ideal for families with primary school aged children but can be enjoyed by all. It’s very sensory so babies and people with additional needs will get a lot out of it.
How long is Grue?
Grue takes approximately 20 mins to walk around, with additional activity in the café afterwards.
How do I access Grue?
After meeting the ticketing team, you will take a lift down one floor to the basement and enter the world of Grue.
What happens if I am late?
Tickets are allocated for 20min tours of the world of Grue, if you are late, you will miss your slot. Please arrive 15 minutes before the time specified on your ticket to avoid disappointment and pay attention to the travel information below.
Can I leave a buggy somewhere
Yes. There is space at the entrance where members of our volunteering team will always be positioned.
Is it scary?
Nothing in Grue is designed to frighten. The experience does feature some large but very friendly creatures.
Can I take photos?
Yes, you can take photos within the space. Please ask any members in your group you do not know before doing so.
If you post on social media, don’t forget the hashtag #Bradford2025 and tag in the companies who created Grue – @arcade_hello and @wintercroft
Who will be with us?
You’ll be exploring Grue in audience groups of up to 8 people.
You will be welcomed by a character called Bobbin, a make-believe member of the Bingley Historical Society, which is based in Damart Mill.
Do you use special effects?
During the public sessions, coloured lights will be used to enhance the world of Grue. A small amount of smoke/haze is used in two parts of the experience as well as the use of sound effects throughout. There is no strobe lighting and no sudden or unexpected loud noises.
Audio description
Audio description will be provided through PenFriend – a chunky pen shaped device with pre-recorded audio description, which is triggered when placed near specially designed stickers. We have a limited number of these devices but have made audio description available during at least one slot each hour.
Please contact our Ticketing team on [email protected] for more information.
Performances will not be captioned, but a transcript will be available to read.
Wheelchair accessibility
There are lifts and ramps throughout the venue.
Accessible toilets
The venue has accessible toilets. There are also facilities for baby changing.
Disabled parking
There are 6 disabled car parking spaces in the venue car park and are right next to the entrance.
Quiet space
A quiet space will be available throughout the event. Where capacity allows, we’ll do our best to get you back into Grue, if you have to leave during the event, but this may not always be possible.
Relaxed sessions
All Grue performances are informal in the sense that you are free to move, make noise and leave the space if you need to, although we cannot guarantee you can re-enter the experience depending on capacity.
However, on Mondays, we have our relaxed sessions where there is sound and lighting but no live performers, puppeteering, interaction or story. This is provided for audiences who prefer to experience Grue as an art installation, at their own pace, with no audience interaction. Audiences on these days will be given a quest sheet which gives key information.
British Sign Language (BSL) sessions
A BSL interpreter will accompany groups booked for these sessions on Sunday 16 February.
Can I get food before or afterwards?
The 1871 cafe at Damart will be open during the public sessions serving breakfast, lunch, pastries and cakes
Opening times:
8-9th Feb- 9am-5:30pm
10th-14th- 9am-2:30pm
15th-23rd-9am-5:30pm
Who made this world?
Grue was dreamed up by Steve Wintercroft and Rach Drew and produced by ARCADE in 2021 – it has run in Scarborough for the last three years. This Bradford 2025 commission has allowed them to scale up the work, so it will be bigger and better than ever before and specifically connected to Bradford. There is a large team of creatives working on Grue, including a sound and lighting designer, programmer, writer, audio engineer, carpenters and visual artists.
ARCADE
ARCADE is a charity that supports communities to get involved in art and creativity. They are based in Scarborough and Bridlington but work in lots of different places. They are proud to be an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.
Wintercroft
Steve Wintercroft founded Wintercroft, an environmentally conscious design company specialising in helping people make masks from waste card. Steve has helped over 150,000 people internationally to get creative with card, has worked with artists such as Paul McCartney and Bjork and has written books on papercraft.
