Saving the Brighton Hippodrome

Brighton Hippodrome

The Brighton Hippodrome was, or should we say is, a lavish full size theatre venue which was constructed in 1897 and hosted ice rinks, circus acts, variety theatre, vaudeville shows and even world renowned bands such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.


Since it's hay day the beautiful venue has fallen into disrepair. It was used a bingo hall for 40 years, which eventually shut down and since 2007 has been completely empty.


In recent years, 2 local groups have rose up to champion the Brighton Hippodrome in an effort to restore it to pasts glories and open it up to the public, if not at full then at least some capacity. These groups are the Our Brighton Hippodrome and Brighton Hippodrome CIC. With the help of local and national trusts, the public and private investors they hope to re-open the hippodrome as a public venue, potentially, given enough investment, as early as 2018. 


There are three possible options for restoration:
  • The £8 million basic restoration of the interior.
  •  The £13 million creation of flexible 900-seat capacity “Theatre of Varieties” 
  • The £30 million 1,500 capacity lyric theatre capable of hosting large-scale touring productions.
These options are entirely dependant on how much investment the charities manage to raise in the 6 months given to them by current owners of the theatre, Academy Music Group.


We wish everyone involved the best of look with the restoration plans of this magnificent building, and would welcome to present our own circus productions at the venue come 2018.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A brief history of clowns to celebrate Andreea's birthday!

Origins of the Chinese Circus

Strong Women in Circus