Birmingham Hippodrome

Saw this amazing show called sample last night at the hippodrome. It was incredible! Different dancing styles such as tango, ballet, breakdance, Indian dance etc. So impressive and wonderful to watch. We were invited by the hippodrome to some networking and drinks beforehand and then to watch the show. The place is beautiful inside too, a real theatre style which lets you dive into an different world for a couple of hours. Really enjoyed it!

Birmingham Hippodrome is one of the city’s biggest arts venues. It is one of the busiest theatres in the country, with a packed programme offering everything from panto to ballet.
There has been a theatre on the site since the 1800s, though the original building has largely been swallowed by a great big modern façade. The entrance to the theatre is large and open, with bars set across different floors. There’s a patrons lounge and a restaurant too. The main auditorium is really impressive. Following renovation in 2001 it looks great, with historic details restored. Every seat I’ve had offers a good view of the stage.
Over the years I’ve visited the Hippodrome numerous times. Most recently I saw Matthew Bourne’s contemporary ballet Sleeping Beauty. Whatever the show the set and costume design are always really impressive. A recent production of Aladdin included flying carpets hovering above the stalls and 3D visual effects.

I visit the hippodrome quite often because I like their musical program. Hippodrome’s location is perfectly central next to China town. The shows are mostly fully booked and the atmosphere is wonderful! Every staff member here, no matter if at the bar or in the cloakroom is so friendly which really makes the evening special. The scenery and sound has been fantastic in every show I have been so far.

I enjoy going to the theatre. It’s one of my favourite things to do when I go to London, so I love it when I get a good theatre experience in Birmingham.
The Hippodrome is a great venue. Everything that I’ve been to see there from pantomime, to ballet has been wonderful. The Hippodrome is on the edge of China town, with plenty of nearby places for a pre theatre dinner.
There is a coat check, which is handy as the seats in the theatre are pretty cramped.
This theatre has several bars but that doesn’t prevent the queues I’m afraid.
I would say it’s worth the extra to get the seats in the circle from my experience; especially for the shows with special effects.

I was here last night for a freinds birthday to watch a play called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-​Time. We have both read the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. At first glance it didn’t look like much, the stage setting looks simple, minimalistic. Then suddenly the play begins with thunder-​like music and flashing strobes of intense light. a dog is seen in the light that has been killed with a garden fork (i dont want to give too much of the plot away) but as the story unfolds, it morphs into an impressive display of modern technology!
Experienced through the eyes & ears of a teen suffering from Aspergers syndrome, be prepared for moments of sensory overload with blinding bright lights, 3D mapping visuals & intensely loud noise.
The main character Christopher is intelligent, honest, & funny even when he doesn’t intend to be. Christopher uncovers secrets about his mom & dad when the dog next door is murdered, & what ensues is a two-​hour mystery that asks questions about truths & lies, & the ramifications of your choice to do one or the other.
Certain scenes are difficult to watch, and even heartbreaking, it really does hit home and allows you time to think too… perhaps because don’t we all have somewhat dysfunctional families?! Heavy topics are explored, but I like feeling that weight, so I definitely recommend this great British play to everyone. Hats off to the actors who played the characters and for entertaining us.
Be sure to stay till the end. as the end is not the end until the confetti falls.
SPOILER ALERT: watch out for the adorable puppy towards the end of the play!
Tickets price was £37.50 excluding bf
also free parking 6pm-​8am around hurst/​kent street area if your lucky to find a spot.

I was there on work, so didn’t really get to experience any performances but we saw some of the rehearsal spaces and my, what a lovely place! It’s been refurbished recently and looks very very nice. A great place for theatre and music, dance and similar exciting stuff like that. I remember going here to see pantomimes when I was a boy with my grandad. a sense of nostalgia going back.
Truly recommend it if you want to see great perfomances outside of london!

I am a pretty serious theatre-​goer, so I visit the Hippodrome very frequently! I love the variety of productions on offer, from opera to musicals, plays and — my favourite — the Birmingham Royal Ballet!
Tickets are always incredibly easy to book and, as it is such a large venue, you can often get a seat even a bit last minute. Prices for the most popular productions can be a little high, but there are always ways to save money. The seats in the «lounge» areas at the back of the stalls are often cheaper. Also, I always try to take advantage of the Hippodrome’s fantastic First Night scheme, which offers discounted tickets for 16 – 23 year olds. I once picked up a ticket to see BRB’s Sleeping Beauty for £5 — in row M of the stalls!!!
Food and drink can be very dear, but the prices aren’t higher than any other major theatre. I have never tried the Circle Restaurant, but intend to treat myself to this experience one day. You begin your meal prior to the performance, giving you time to enjoy starters and main courses, before returning for dessert in the interval. Perfect.
The staff are friendly and efficient, giving this huge commercial venue a very local flavour. I cannot recommend the Hippodrome highly enough!

As I like to think of myself as a Theatre Goer, I have a terrible thing to admit… I had my first trip to the Hippodrome this year, just last month in fact! I actually love big productions and musicals, I just always manage to miss the things I really want to watch and end up kicking myself afterwards! Well, not this time. I saw Matthew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands was coming to the Hippodrome and booked tickets IMMEDIATELY (so as not to miss it, again).
First things first, the ticket systems are really great. I booked mine online and was able to choose my seat and pay for everything in under five minutes. Result. We pottered down on the night and collected our tickets with ease from the desk before the show.
This is a GIGANTIC theatre. We were in the stalls, so popped down to the bottom level and grabbed a glass before the performance. It was quite fine and actually fairly reasonably priced for a glass of wine in a big venue, so no complaints there!
We ended up sitting in the «lounge» area of the stalls and this was perfect! We had a great view of the performance, but we did get chairs (rather than comfy theatre seats). I was happy to make this sacrifice as I think we ended up paying lots less than the guys in the stalls around us.
The staff were friendly and helpful (never stern or grumpy) and the show was marvellous. There was perfect sound throughout and a beautiful performance of contemporary dance. I was moved to tears more than once during this performance.
If there is a show coming to town that you want to catch, I cannot recommend a trip to the Birmingham Hip high enough! Get yourself down there and prepared to be dazzled!

I went with my mom on a January afternoon to the Birmingham Hippodrome home of the UK’s BIGGEST panto. The staff are soo friendly and we were greeted today by a very happy usher right at the door who told us everything we needed to know about seating and facilities.
PLAN AHEAD!
You will need to look through the forthcoming events as advance as possible to ensure you don’t miss out on all the great theatre that takes places here.
Sit in the circle near the middle.
There’s food to be had here but I’ve never tried the theatre dining, if I was having a lovely date night or something then perhaps I’d do that but not yet.
While front of house was totally rebuilt some years ago. Lots of original looking features remain in the theatre itself so make sure you have a good look up while texting on your phone before a play or musical.

I have been to the Birmingham Hippodrome many times now since its revamp a few years back and the reason I decided to put this review up is that I realised after visiting the excellent Pantomime last night that I have never had a bad experience here. Its has always been first class and deserves every star it gets.
I notice that people have commented quite heavily on the prices that they charge both for tickets and for food/​bar. I have to say that I disagree strongly with anyone that says that it is overpriced. With every performance given the Hippodrome excels and exceeds sometimes expectations. The Pantomimes themselves have a huge production value making it immediately obvious where all the money is going. Since the refurbishment larger plays and performances have been cropping up here making it feel like Birmingham is getting its own taste of the west end now. Avenue Q, Wicked and The Bodyguard are to name a few!
The staff are very friendly, I have never seen a sour face here. The food is better quality than that of the likes of the Barclaycard Arena and the NEC and yet it is slightly cheaper as well. It always looks well kept and welcoming. I just can’t fault the place at all.
Birmingham should be proud to have the Hippodrome part of its performing arts collective, it encourages talent whilst bringing us brummies the greatest entertainment in the world. If I do have a bad experience I will amend the review but I can pretty much guarantee that it won’t happen.

I have been coming to this theatre since I was a child, though sadly not that frequently.
They renovated it a few years ago and now the entrance is light and bright and the toilets, seating areas and bars are clearly signed and easy to locate.
For this visit I came to see the production of Wicked –which lived up to its name. We had such a good time! Our view from our seats was very good and I couldn’t see that anyone, apart from maybe the back row, would have trouble with seeing the stage.
The bar staff before the performance and during the interval were brilliant. Service was so quick! There was a selection of themed cocktails for £4.50, but I stuck to white wine– £4.50 for a small glass and large glass was £6 I think.-Not too bad for a theatre!

Went to see Matthew Bourne’s Lord Of The Flies. The production was excellent and definitely five stars, if not six. But the theatre struggles for three.
The seats, as in most theatres, are simply designed to cram as many bodies in as possible; and the only lumbar support you can expect will be from your own rolled up coat. Pricing is still from the lottery winners’ handbook, with stalls tickets being nigh on a days pay at minimum wage and a gin and tonic setting you back a good hour’s work.
The view was excellent from row R, but, considering the cost, I’d’ve been livid if it wasn’t :p One can only hope that the Arts Council sees beyond it’s privileged toffishness and ceases finding these over priced venues owned by the 0.01 percent.
An excellent evening only spoilt by the complete ruining of my bank balance.

Last night I saw Matthew Bourne’s swan lake at the wonderful Hippodrome theatre. What a night! I love the Hippodrome anyway (I’ve seen The Nutcracker there previously) but this, for me, was the icing on the cake.
The staff were lovely and helpful — as always, with a very warm welcome & individual service.
This modern take on the classic has had rave reviews across the globe — all I can add is: Go & see it!
⁵⁄₅ I’d go and see it again now if I could & I can’t wait for my next outing to the fab Hippodrome.

I took my wife to see WarHorse, which could only be described as awesome. However, the downside was The meal in the Circle Restaurant beforehand. We paid 28.50 per head, to have a meal served up within 5 minutes for what looked and tasted like a microwave meal. I did write and complain, was contacted by two people who seemed to take an interest in my view on the meal. It was only after nine days when I asked why they had not replied that I got a response. IN MY OPINION, you can get far better food in a pub at a fraction of the price. While I will be using the Hippodrome again, the Circle Restaurant will be a no no. I would happily give the Theatre a four out of five (not much leg room, but nothing can really be done about that), the Circle would be a one. I feel that the restaurant drags the rating down to two stars

Superb venue, excellent shows, great choice and value for money with very friendly and helpful staff, and worth a night out anytime. I can only recommend a night at the theatre and will be back

Just got back from watching Blood Brothers at Hippodrome for first time… fantastic Theatre. Bigger than I thought It would be. I sat in the upper circle which was a perfect view to see the show. 3 floors with a full bar, refreshments and toilets on each floor. Nice atmosphere. Blood Brothers was phenomenal, the sounds, lighting and effects were good. All staff are friendly and a very comfortable feel as you walk in. As a ‘heads up’ The Lion King will be showing in June 2013 — and tickets are available for purchase Now! The Hippodrome is certainly worth visiting — especially as it shows many top west end London shows.

Birmingham’s Hippodrome is one of our Flagship theatres, and adored by many culture and arts enthusiasts!
I frequent the Hippodrome on several occasion’s, it isn’t just London that gets all the top west end shows. I’ve seen Footloose here, The Nutcracker, CATS, to name a few. There are 2 wonderful bars for both pre-​show drinks, interval breaks, and for afters.
The restaurant at the theatre side is a must for those of you who do like to make an outing an all day event. The food wont disappoint, and you wont have to wait very long to be seated or served. It’s ideal to eat here before a show, so your not running late getting to that all important performance.
The good thing I noticed was they also have great disabled seating with adapted stools if you should need them. This also gives a great view of the stage.
My personal recommendation would be to see the Nutcracker, which the Hippodrome hosts every year during the Christmas run. Not only does it get you in the festivity nostalgia, but you’ll find this show in particular is extremely popular with families and children too.
The service, drinks, ice-​cream & food are all great, and overall a well presented theatre that stands as a beacon of creativity for Birmingham! If you like it a lot, fellowships are also available.

One of Birmingham’s premier hotspots for theatre buffs, Birmingham Hippodrome is an inviting arts venue curiously situated within one of the city’s busiest areas for nightlife. A stone’s throw away from populist club venues like Reflex and Bushwackers and the gaudy delights of the city’s gay quarter, the Hippodrome is a haven for those folk who prefer musicals to Top 40 dancefloors.
As soon as you step into the foyer, the interior of the venue automatically communicates a certain ‘swankiness’ and this sense of all-​round quality is felt throughout one’s visit, from grabbing a drink at the bar before the show to taking your seat and enjoying the show. The main theatre is spacious and, having sat quite far back for a production of Matthew Bourne’s awesome ‘Edward Scissorhands’ ballet production, I can safely say that even the so-​called ‘cheap seats’ allow for a greatly enjoyable experience.
There’s another stage in a smaller room for more niche dance productions and the like, showcasing the theatre’s versatility and cultural significance to the city. The venue’s location means a pre– or post-​show drink can easily be arranged, too.

First class service running throughout the Hippodrome, from the box office, through to the customer service assistants and the restaurant staff.
After booking tickets to see Oliver last month, my girlfriend and I were extremely pleased with the level of individual service and the warm welcome we received upon our arrival.
After having a drink at the bar we went on to take our seats in the auditorium and watched the first act of the show. The interval came and we made our way back out to the main area and indulged in some ice cream and another round of drinks.
Overall my experience at the Hippodrome was on the first degree, world class service and a great show to match.
Definitely a 5 star performance.

One of Birmingham’s best loved music, concert and theatre venues, the Birmingham Hippodrome is THE place to go see all the Broadway and London shows in Brummy Town.
It’s really a nice little venue, all things told, tucked away behind Broad and New Streets, and not in a typical horrific theatre district. Some complain it’s hard to find, but with sat nav, it’s easy peasy, plus you don’t have to deal with typical Broadway and and West End crowds, neighbourhoods and buskers.
There is a charming café just opposite should you want more than the typical intermission fare.
The Hippodrome itself is spacious, seating a good amount of folks. Unfortunately, like most theatres, its seats in anywhere but the front circle are not gifted in the legroom department, leaving my 6’5″ husband with his knees round his ears, but it’s a minor complaint!
The décor is typical of a theatre, minimalist use of wood and drop hangings in the outer area, red plus baroque doings in the theatre itself.
The seats are pretty good anywhere in the house, and ticket prices are not exhorbitant.
What I like about the Hippodrome is that you can become a «Hippodrome Friend» for a very modest fee (think National Trust membership), and get early notices of upcoming shows, best choice of seats and discounted food.
There are two restaurants, neither of which I’ve eaten in, but have perused the menus of both — one is a fine dining experience (think two AA rosettes), and the other a bar/​brasierre/​café.
There are two bars on each level, with the usual bottles of beers and wines and a few spirits, and non-​alcoholic things. There are some packaged sandwiches/​nuts/​muffins and so on, as expected.
Though as an American I’m horrified and bored stiff by Pantomime, the Hippodrome’s makes a big thing about having the world’s largest Pantomime. I tend to be more interested in the excellent ballet, opera and theatre here!
The Hippodrome really is a lovely place, and if you’re from anywhere near the Midlands, may I suggest waiting until your favourite cast from NYC or London goes touring and paying significantly less for a less crowded experience at The Hippodrome?