Promoting your event

Getting an audience to come and see your show can be a challenge. Those hiring Hillingdon's theatre spaces are responsible for their own publicity, but with enough notice here are some useful ways to get the word out.

Events taking place in our theatres can be listed for free on Hillingdon's Discover Hillingdon website and in our heritage and culture brochure.

Discover Hillingdon website

To list your event on Discover Hillingdon, email artsvenue@hillingdon.gov.uk with:

the name of the event
the name of the organisation responsible for the event
a description of the event
date
start and finish time
the age group(s) the event is open to (0-5s, 5-11, 11-19, adults, over-65s)
the venue
ticket price
details of how to book
an image (which you have permission to use) to illustrate your event - see Images, artwork and illustrations
links to your website, Facebook page and X (Twitter) page.

Hillingdon's heritage and culture brochure

Events in Hillingdon can also be included in our quarterly , which is emailed to our list of email subscribers and published across council websites. See our rate cards for current pricing.

Contributor deadlines

Edition featuring events January to March - 15 October (delivered early December)
Edition featuring events April to June - 15 January (delivered early March)
Edition featuring events July to September - 15 April (delivered early June)
Edition featuring events October to December - 15 July (delivered early September)

Images, artwork and illustrations

Brochure image: Square - 80mm x 80mm (945 x 945 pixels), minimum 300dpi
Website image: Rectangle - 600px (wide) x 400px (high), minimum 72dpi

Please note:

You are responsible for making sure you have permission from the image copyright holder to use the images or text you supply for any publicity. Any fines for misuse of copyrighted materials will be passed on to the hirer.
Images should (where possible) not include any overlaid text. In our brochures and online, all relevant information, including the event title is shown next to the image, so will not need repeating. Text in images is also always legible in final reproduction.
If you can, use images showing people or faces. These are known to attract the eye when scanning listings, brochures etc.

Social media

Feel free to follow us and share details of forthcoming events with us on social media:

Posters, flyers and banners

Event planners using the Hillingdon Box Office are obliged, by contract, to include correct contact details for the box office on any and all publicity for public performances. This includes both the Hillingdon Box Office telephone number (01895 250615) and the website address (discover.hillingdon.gov.uk/theatres). These should appear in at least the same font size as any contact details provided for the client's own ticket sales routes.

If ticket buyers will be charged a booking fee if they book through an external box office, these must be detailed in your printed publicity. This is required to allow customers to be fully informed before choosing 1 of 2 routes to purchase, and is a ruling from the Advertising Standards Authority.

Banner display at Bury Street, Manor Farm

Arts venue hirers can book 1 of 5 possible spaces to hang a promotional banner on the fence at Manor Farm (to the right of the Duck House on Bury Street, south of the 'Bury Street' sign, opposite the entrance to Sharps Lane) for a maximum 2 weeks per hire. There is no charge for this service.

Requests to hang banners at Bury Street should be emailed to artsvenues@hillingdon.gov.uk and include:

the booking/hire number emailed to you
the 2-week period you would like to display your banner.

We will then contact you to confirm your banner space booking, or to suggest alternative dates if the requested dates aren't available.

Please note:

Only banners under 0.6 square metres (eg 1m x 60cm) in size can be hung on the fence.
Banners must be put up and taken down within the time period booked.
Banners must be fixed securely, so that wind cannot blow the banner into the road.
All fixings must be trimmed, and all trimmings removed, to protect passers-by and wildlife.
In the past, banners have been removed by unknown parties without reason or warning. This area is not covered by the venue's CCTV.
This is a currently a free, low-maintenance publicity service that we want to continue to offer as best we can, so we are grateful for your co-operation.

Important: For the hanging of any other roadside banners, you must request permission from the council, ensuring the venue name is included in your application.

Display of posters and flyers

We can display posters and flyers in the following places by request:

foyer of Winston Churchill Theatre - posters (A4 only) and flyers
foyer of Compass Theatre - posters (A3 only) and flyers
Manor Farm House - has a limited area for flyer display.

All flyers and posters should be left for the attention of Lisa Manning at Compass Theatre.

Whilst there is no cost for this service, we also cannot guarantee to be able to display all materials provided nor can we promise how quickly they can go up after delivery.

Compass Theatre shows - suggested quantity of publicity materials

500 x A5 portrait flyers - mainly for display at the Compass Theatre and a quantity for Winston Churchill Theatre
10 x A3 posters - for display at the Compass Theatre
2 x A4 posters - for display at Winston Churchill Theatre

Winston Churchill Theatre shows - suggested quantity of publicity materials

500 x A5 portrait flyers - mainly for display at Compass Theatre and a quantity for Winston Churchill Theatre
6 x A4 posters - for display at Winston Churchill Theatre
3 x A3 posters - for display at the Compass Theatre

Promotional opportunity: Duck Pond Market, Ruislip

On the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month, from 10am until 3pm, Duck Pond Markets take place in the Manor Farm grounds.

Producers of shows taking place at the Winston Churchill Theatre and Compass Theatre are encouraged to contact the market provider about the ways they support Hillingdon's theatre groups at Manor Farm.

To find out more, contact Duck Pond Market.

If you have questions or would like to check availability for putting on a show, email artsvenues@hillingdon.gov.uk.