About Us > The Most Popular Theatre In The UK?
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| Welcoming audiences averaging around 500,000 each year, Birmingham Hippodrome can lay claim to the highest regular annual attendance of any single theatre in the UK.
The Theatre Trust is a Registered Charity (No. 510842), and we also have a Development Trust (No. 511567). Click here to see a list of our Trustees. Since our award-winning £35m redevelopment in 2001, the city centre venue has attracted ever-increasing numbers of people to performances and events and is drawing audiences from an increasingly broad geographical and socio-demographic spread. Many new patrons are enjoying some of the finest productions in the world alongside long-standing supporters, with up to half the audience experiencing a performance at the Hippodrome for the very first time. "It's been a tough few years putting the Hippodrome back on the map” comments Stuart Griffiths who stepped into the limelight as Chief Executive barely ten months after the 109 – year old theatre re-opened. “Getting the most from our vastly expanded facilities has been an uphill struggle, especially when the costs of operating have increased by 50%, but the challenges have galvanised the whole team and with a strong and supportive Board of Trustees, together with the key support of the city council and the Arts Council, we have strengthened our business considerably and can look forward now from a stable position to an exciting future with some ambitious plans.” Birmingham Hippodrome is committed to improving it's environmental performance. CLICK HERE to read our Environmental Policy Statement. |
| » Inside the Theatre |
| BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME FOYERS Artist: LIZ RiDEAL, Glass Drapes (2001), Light Column (2005) |
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| Recalling Constantin Brancusi’s Endless Column, Liz Rideal’s Light Column, functions as a visual glass conduit between the architectural levels of the theatre building. The outer wall, Glass Drapes, reflects and echoes the column, an independent yet connected work in translucent repetitious form. The allusion to draped cloth refers to the background fabrics originally seen in painted portraits. This convention became a familiar sight in photographic studios, and is retained in the photo-booth. The basic logic and imagery for these artworks is derived from the repetition of a strip of four photographs taken in such a booth and measuring 20 x 4 centimetres. Since 1997 Liz Rideal has used drapery as her subject, picturing cloth in performance. The pattern reproduced on these glassworks reiterates drapery folds. Light and curtains combine as signifiers of theatrical atmosphere. Both the outer glass wall and inner hanging glass column reflect and shadow each other, an extension of audience and stage echoed in endlessly choreographed repetitions. In Glass Drapes, ground glass and pigment were photo silk-screened onto the two metre squares of plate glass. This enlarged photograph was made permanent by the application of intense heat. In Light Column, the original rectangular format of the photo-booth image was used for the interconnecting glass boxes; sixteen of these were created in response to this rhythm of 4 x 4. These boxes in turn have four sides, one side is made up of sixteen parts, and eight of these are mirrors. The strict sequencing and fixed ‘cast’ of components evokes the precision of repeated performances over time, with mirrors as ‘actors’ adding sparkle and individuality. As patrons ascend and descend the staircase, so they revolve around the spiralling glass structure. As day changes to night, and the theatre expands and contracts with visitors, so the reflected patterns and shadows will also change, continuously activating the space.
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| >>Environmental Award |
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Birmingham Hippodrome is the first theatre in the UK to be registered to ISO 14001, an international standard for Environmental Management Systems, now the most widely awarded EMS certification in the world.
Mike Bradford, Director of Operations at Birmingham Hippodrome said “We are delighted to be the first theatre in the UK to be certified to ISO 14001 and listed on the QA Register. With 500,000 visitors per year it is important that we are committed to the environment. We have already changed the way we dispose of our waste, recycling has increased in the last 12 months by 110% and modifications to the theatre’s utilities means that we have reduced gas and electricity usage by 30% in the last 5 years”.
Birmingham Hippodrome’s on-going commitment to the environment also includes:-
· Glass and Plastic recycling saving an average of 580kgs of Co2 per month
· Cardboard baled, compressed onsite, collected every 2 weeks for recycling (instead of two skips every week going to landfill)
· General waste compacted and collected every two weeks for recycling, reducing carbon footprint (instead of emptying one skip five times per week which then went to landfill)
· Administration – reduction of print consumption by 10%
· Introduction of low energy lighting, sensor taps, and hand dryers
· Recycling bins located backstage and in administration
· Waste that cannot be recycled is sent to Tyseley incinerator, Birmingham, which produces enough energy to power 40,000 local homes
· Ongoing work includes reduction of the theatre’s water usage
Emma Fawcett-Jones, UK Business Manager for Certification International (UK) Ltd said “We are absolutely delighted to award certification to ISO 14001:2004 to Birmingham Hippodrome. During the Initial Assessment, the organisation was subject to a rigorous audit, designed to fully test the management system against the requirements of the Standard and to assess its implementation throughout the theatre. I’m pleased to say that through the commitment of Mike and his team, it was evident that Birmingham Hippodrome had made significant efforts to ensure that it was fully compliant in all aspects.”
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"WNO is one of the best music companies in the world and once again it did not disappoint" Birmingham Mail "The effervescent Birmingham Royal Ballet cast transform the stage into a balletic extravanganza." “Birmingham Hippodrome’s Wideworld festival of international dance was launched in breath-taking style by Brazil’s Grupo Corpo”
Birmingham Post on Hobson’s Choice
Birmingham Mail
“If Grupo Corpo are an indication of the other offerings in the WideWorld festival, Birmingham audiences have much to look forward to”
Birmingham Mail
"A huge company fills the Hippodrome’s equally huge stage"
The Stage, on the Bolshoi Ballet
"A fitting venue for world-class productions"
Express & Star
"One of the jewels in Birmingham’s cultural crown"
Birmingham Post
"For those with disabilities the new look theatre is a dream"
Express & Star
"You'll have a great night, leave with a smile on your face and be singing the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang song for days afterwards!"
Ed James at breakfast, 100.7 Heart FM
"If you are looking for an adventure this Christmas there is little doubt that the Hippodrome is the place to find it" Birmingham Mail
