#Birmingham Hippodrome

[simplysummers]

Slayed so hard. Had such an amazing time tonight

[willstafford]

The Peasants are Revolting

The Peasants are Revolting

LES MISERABLES Birmingham Hippodrome, Friday 12th August 2022 Victor Hugo’s sprawling novel of post-revolutionary France (honestly, you could derail a train with that thing) has become more widely known due to this musical adaptation, which receives something of an upgrade after all these years.  The staging is enhanced by video projections, mainly of gloomy watercolours (inspired by the daubs…

[sheltiechicago]

Birmingham, UK

Dancers perform during a dress rehearsal of Black Sabbath – the Ballet at Birmingham Hippodrome

Photograph: Katja Ogrin/Getty Images

[vesperione]

There’s only one good thing about the palladium selling out. And that’s the potential of a uk tour okay guys let’s vote who wants starkid in their local area say MEEEE

[coolswagdaddy]

Lydia Gerrard’s ‘Glinda’ debut in this amazing production of Wicked at the Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre on 7th March 2024….we couldn’t be happier!

[dozydawn]

“Darcey Bussell, aged 20 years old, prepares for her leading role in La Bayadère at the Hippodrome Theatre, Birmingham, 26th February 1990. Darcey is the youngest principal dancer with the Royal Ballet.”

[javelinbk]

The Beatles pose with officers from West Midlands Police after arriving at the Hippodrome Theatre in Birmingham in a police van, 10th November 1963

[themultifandomgal]

Tommy Shelby- Leave The Blinders

YNs family dynamic was very different to other kids her age. She's now 16 and living with her father and step mother while her biological mother lives in America who visits every now and again.

Her father, Tommy, is very protective of her especially because of what he does.

For as long as YN can remember she has hated him being part of the Peaky Blinders, she's always worried about him and her uncles, and partly she worries about herself. Now that Grace has been killed all YN wants to do is live a normal life with her family.

YN sits down during the family meeting, not really paying attention to what's being said. That is until her dad starts talking about her

"YN are you listening?"

"Huh?"

"Blimey child" Polly shakes her head

"From now on you are not to leave the house unless it's with one of us"

"What!" YN shouts with wide eyes

"I can't loose you as well" Tommy says to his daughter

"Then leave this life behind, like I've been saying"

"I can't YN. You know I cant" Tommy rubs his hands over his face

"I don't understand why!" YN shouts getting up from her seat and storming out of the room. Tommy looks at Finn who just nods his head and leaves to walk YN back home.

Tommy becomes distant especially after Charlie, her younger brother, gets kidnapped. YN becomes tired of living in fear and decides it's time to leave. When her mother next visits, YN asks if she can go with her to America.

Years later and YN returns to England as part of a travelling show. She returns to her home town in Small Heath. Walking through the Garrison she sees her eldest uncle sat at the bar drinking

"Uncle Arthur?" Arthur turns around and smiles at the girl

"YN is that you?"

"Yes. Where's dad? Is he ok?"

"Of course he's alright. What are you doing here?"

"I'm a singer. We're performing In Birmingham and I thought I should come and see dad"

"He's in there" Arthur nods towards the private room. YN gives her uncle a smile and makes her way into the private room. YN sees her dad nursing a whisky

"Hi dad"

"YN" Tommy breathes out turning his head to his daughter "what are you doing here?"

"Uncle Arthur asked the same thing. I'm a singer now"

"My daughter a singer. Who'd have thought"

"I've missed you dad" YN says sitting down next to Tommy

"I've missed you as well"

"Are you... do you...."

"Still part of the Peaky Blinders?" Tommy asks and YN nods her head sheepishly "kind of. I don't get dirty anymore. I have men for that"

"I suppose that's something"

"How long are you here for"

"2 weeks. I'm performing at the hippodrome if you'd like to come and see"

"I'd love to come. Look YN I'm sorry for how I acted. I just wanted to keep you safe"

"I know dad, but I was scared about loosing you. I was scared. When I heard uncle John had died I wanted to come back, but I couldn't bring myself to face you. I paid my respects though"

"John wouldn't have wanted you to waste time coming home" a nice comfortable silence passes between the two. Tommy finally brakes the silence "I'm sorry YN. I should have wrote to you"

"Maybe we can start" YN gives her father a shrug

"I'd like that"

[rebeccalouisaferguson]

The BBC has unveiled its Christmas schedule featuring a wealth of pre-announced scripted content, a recording of the Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby live performance and a Rebecca Ferguson-narrated natural history doc about Scandinavia. The Peaky Blinders performance will be specially filmed at the Birmingham Hippodrome and air on BBC Four over Christmas. Adapted for the stage by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and choreographed and directed by Rambert’s Artistic Director Benoit Swan Pouffer, the performance includes the full company of Rambert dancers and marks 10 years since the first episode aired. Meanwhile, Dune star Ferguson is narrating Wild Scandinavia, which celebrates the stunning wildlife, dramatic landscapes and unique culture of the furthest northern reaches of Europe and is co-produced for PBS and SVT. There are also fresh docs on the slate about the Kanneh-Mason performers, Caroline Aherne, Noel Coward and Adrian Chiles. The slate is helmed by a wealth of pre-announced scripted content including Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Famous Five, Ghosts Christmas Special and second seasons of Vigil and The Tourist.

[psalm22-6]

Souce: the Universal Weekly, 8 May 1926

London Showing Gala Event of Film Season The London showing was in the London Hippodrome, April 9th, and was by far the gala event of the current film season in London. The picture is in twenty-two reels and was shown at a double session, each session including eleven reels. This was a decided novelty for the British filmmen and reviewers, yet was accepted with favor and even enthusiasm. It is considered likely that the American presentation of the big French film will conform to this method. 

The trade showing tour of the picture which followed the London showing was as follows: West End Cinema, Birmingham, April 11th; Theatre Royal, Manchester, April 12th; Grainger Picture House, Newcastle, April 13th; Theatre Royal, Glasgow, April 14th; Briggate Picture House, Leeds, April 15th; Trocadero, Liverpool, April 16th, and Park Cinema, Cardiff, April 17th. The London Hippodrome showing was marked by unusual ceremonies and celebrations. An elaborate prologue, hailed as one of the finest ever seen in England, preceded the picture. In it many of the principal actors and actresses of the film appeared in person. Included in the prologue were the following French film favorites, who made a special trip from Paris for the opening: Sandra Milowanoff, who plays Fantine; Andree Rolane, who plays Cosette; Jean Toulout, who plays Javert; Paul Jorge, who plays Mgr. Myriel; G. Saillard, who plays Thenardier; N. Saillard, who plays Eponine and Renee Carl who has the role of La Thenardier. In the prologue, these players broke through the pages of a big book and marched across the stage before the sleeping figure of Victor Hugo. Prominent International Figures Attend

 A number of the officials and executives of the Societe des Cineromans also were present from Paris, including Jean Sapene, proprietor of Le Matin and director general of the Societe; Louis Nalpas, art director of the Societe; Henri Fescourt, who produced "Les Miserables," and others of similar importance. Amie de Fleureau [sic], French Ambassador to England, was present at the showing, with other prominent Frenchmen now in England, including Marcel Knecht. The French Ambassador, the officials of the Cineromans, members of the cast and many prominent Britons were guests at a banquet held the same evening in the Hotel Metropole, London. Ambassador de Fleureau, Sapene, Nalpas and Knecht sent the following cable to Carl Laemmle during the dinner: "After the splendid and unequalled presentation of 'Les Miserables' at the Hippodrome today to enthusiastic elite of England in the presence of the Ambassadors from Japan, Belgium, Brazil; the Ministers from Greece, Portugal, Norway, Finland and Lithuania; after this most cordial banquet uniting two hundred British-American-French leading journalists, we wish to congratulate warmly and to thank Universal and yourself for most efficient demonstration of Franco-American friendship for the betterment of peace." The cable also contained high praise for James V. Bryson, general manager of the European Motion Picture Co., Ltd., Universal's distributors in the British Isles. Bryson and his aids have had most to do with the acquisition of "Les Miserables" by Universal and for the elaborate presentation it has just received overseas. Cables of gratitude and praise also were sent to Laemmle from the Mayor of Nancy, France, the home of Hugo's father, and from the Mayor of Besancon, where Hugo was born. Score and Story of Picture Broadcast In connection with the Hippodrome presentation, the British National Opera Orchestra of fifty pieces was used to supply the musical background of the picture.

The entire score, together with the story of the picture, was broadcast by radio. It has been estimated that four million radio fans listened-in on this music program. Following the London presentation the orchestra was used for the various provincial trade showings. [. . .] Other Cities Equally Enthusiastic [. . .] Definite information as to whether "Les Miserables" would be released in America the same way as in England — in two parts of eleven reels each, totaling a four-hour show — could not be obtained this week at the Universal Home Office where it was said that this method was under serious consideration, but that no decision had yet been made.  It was pointed out that several other methods of presenting the entire twenty-two reels offer themselves. One of these would be to run the first eleven reels in the afternoon and the second part in the evening. Another way would be to run one part in one theatre and the other in another theatre day and date. Still a third way would be to run the first part the first half of the week and the second part the last half.  One thing is practically certain. Carl Laemmle, rather than sacrifice any of the dramatic thrills and entertainment value to be found in the full-length version, means to present it as it stands. It is of interest that the second half is almost a complete story in itself and with a short foreword for the purpose of introducing the characters and outline the elements of the preceding action, might conceivably stand on its own feet.  It is understood that Laemmle is seeking the advice of many exhibitors, newspaper reviewers and others on the perplexing subject of how to release "Les Miserables." Meanwhile, Universal is going ahead with plans to launch the big Universal-Film de France with an advertising, publicity and exploitation campaign that will dwarf that done for such previous Universal super-pictures as "The Hunch- back" and "The Phantom."

[talesofthesecondcity]

Please, Dont Let Me Trip!

I didn’t exactly explode onto Birmingham’s gay scene in glorious rainbow technicolour, more creep apprehensively down a flight of steep stairs… and straight into an awkwardly familiar face!

In my late teens, Friday nights were spent alternating between several pubs on the social triangle of Aston University. I’d been drinking on campus for months prior to turning the legal age, but being student pubs, used to a clientele of fresh-faced undergrads, our spotty faces barely stood out. Doormen would turn a blind eye if you could rattle off your fake date of birth with enough conviction.

On one evening out, I couldn’t shake thoughts of another bar in town, the idea of which ignited my teenage hormones like a drop of blood screaming to a hunting shark. I decisively downed the dregs of my cordial-coloured Snakebite & Black, turned to my best-mate and announced, “I’m going to The Jester.”

The Jester was a basement gay bar, lurking beneath Scala Building, a shabby curve of concrete and glass on Holloway Circus. This typical 1960’s development, of the style old-school Birmingham is notorious, had seen better days, even back in the 80s.

I paced outside for an age, trying to muster the courage to go inside, but somebody would walk by or a bus would circle the roundabout and I would lose my nerve. Finally, the coast was clear and I dashed to the door. The unremarkable entrance took me to a tight flight of stairs leading down into… well, I had no idea.

My heart pounded with a giddy mix of fear and excitement as I descended the steep stairs. All I could think was, Please, don’t let me trip.

I gripped the handrail with white-knuckled intensity, while trying to convey casual nonchalance. I managed to get to the bottom of the stairs upright and with the maximum dignity a gawky teen could carry off.

Guys turned to check out the new chicken in town.

I crossed to the elliptical central bar and ordered a beer.

Waiting for the barman to return with my drink, I dared a quick glance around, taking in the small dance floor, the neon lighting and, to my delight, a glitterball. They actually had a glitterball! My only previous knowledge of a gay bar came solely from The Blue Oyster in the movie Police Academy, which had a glitterball that the Leather Queens danced romantically beneath. I was now convinced every gay venue in the world had one.

I clocked one cute guy around the curve of the bar to my left.

He looks very handsome, I thought, around my age, chiselled jawline, slicked back black hair. Oh, hang on… It’s a lesbian.

My drink arrived. I let out a sigh of relief. I had made it inside, down the stairs and got a drink, all without incident. The night was mine!

A hand fell upon my shoulder.

“How are you, young man?”

I turned to find the benignly smiling face… of my form teacher.

Sat at a bar with my teacher wasn’t exactly how I’d expected my first night on the scene to turn out… but I could not have wanted for a better introduction.

It was a relief to finally have another gay man to confide in, even better that it was a familiar and trusted figure. Here was an opportunity to talk to someone with experience of a world I was taking my first steps into.

Although being caught in a gay bar by Sir had been a shock, I had not been surprised that he frequented such establishments. Rumours about him had circulated school for years. The shaved head, handlebar moustache, penchant for a leather jacket and the general Village People vibe had also been a bit of a giveaway. He wouldn’t have looked out of place swaying beneath that glitterball at The Blue Oyster.

As the evening progressed, Sir suggested we move on to The Nightingale, the city’s only night club in the 1980s. He was a member and offered to sign me in as his guest.

At this point in the club’s history The Gale, as it is affectionally known, was situated near the stage door of the Birmingham Hippodrome, at the end of a short alley. You had to ring the bell, wait until a face appeared behind a sliding slot, then confirm you knew what type of bar it was before being admitted.

Once inside, there was a cloakroom and small bar dominated by a gaudy fountain.  Beyond was the main disco. On the far side of the dancefloor was a dimly lit area, partitioned off from prying eyes. I remember being baffled as to why anyone would want to disappear into a dark subdivision of a busy nightclub. How naive! So much to learn… and so much fun learning.

At the end of the night, Sir drove me home, dropping off a few streets away, so as not to arouse suspicions of sleepless parents, inevitably awaiting their teenage son’s late-night return.

I am eternally grateful to my then form teacher for looking after me on my first night out on Birmingham’s gay scene.

I have told this tale many times over the years, inevitably greeted by cynical eyebrows and the implication he was on the make… but no, he was the perfect gentleman… and continues to be to this day.

To Sir, With Love. X

Find over 100 tales from Birmingham's gay scene @talesofthesecondcity.com

[willstafford]

It's not easy being green

WICKED Birmingham Hippodrome, Wednesday 6th March, 2024 One of the most successful musicals of all time is on the road again and it’s a real treat to be able to catch it during its stay at Birmingham’s Hippodrome.  If you’ve seen it before, you’ll recall the emotional highs and lows of the story, and the green-faced one belting out ‘Defying Gravity’, but perhaps like me you’ll be reminded just…

[miashyperfixations]

SIX: THE MUSICAL

29.07.2022 @ Vaudeville Theatre, London (690 Capacity)

02.03.2023 @ Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham (1,850 Capacity)

Written March 2023

The first time I saw SIX in London, I was pleasantly surprised at its format and the production as a whole. I went into it expecting your usual musical theatre production but was greeted with six talented vocalists and their band, singing and dancing without an ensemble or supporting actors.

This emphasized the message of the show, which was that these women were underestimated and overlooked in history, considering they had such a huge impact in the Tudor era. It also set the show apart from the traditional production as it felt like a concert rather than show where you had to pay attention at all times in order to follow and understand the plot but it was almost informational. One thing we liked about both performances was that it had an entirely diverse cast, referring to both ethnicity and body type, making each actress shine in her own right. I was still able to learn and have fun, I probably learnt more here than in my 2 years of history before choosing my GCSEs!

Moreover, we didn’t notice until after the show was that the cast that we saw was some of the original cast members from when it opened in 2019, back in the Arts Theatre with a capacity of 350. We bought the tickets for the Birmingham show back at the end of November spontaneously as my mum hadn’t seen it since she went in early 2019, and we had only seen it the previous year.

It was fun to notice all of the different stylistic and vocal changes between not just the London & Birmingham shows, but the soundtrack available on streaming services, which one would obviously expect. The subtle differences in the songs and dialogue allow for diversity and for each cast member to put their own spin on their characters and interpret them as their own. 💛💚🩵❤️🩷💙

[ukrfeminism]

A leading choreographer forced to step down from her own dance company after being accused of transphobia is to launch a new troupe in which all performers will be asked to sign a “freedom of expression” pledge.

Rosie Kay lost her job following remarks she made during a dinner party at her home with nine dancers. She said that a person cannot change their sex. Two of the cast’s dancers identified as non-binary.

Kay said a supportive tweet from JK Rowling helped rescue her from the deep depression that followed the loss of her company. In March, the Harry Potter author wrote: “Rosie, you proved you were ready to lose everything in this fight and I couldn’t admire you more”, adding three clapping emojis.

The dinner party had been held a few days before the premiere at the Birmingham Hippodrome of the company’s Romeo + Juliet.

“I had been encouraged by my management to hold the party, thinking it was better the dancers did not go clubbing in Birmingham and catch Covid,” says Kay. “I remember saying: ‘This is for you.’

“It was loud and raucous. They were shocked that I smoked and drank. They were smoking and drinking. My husband was trying to kick them out at 1.30 am. My son had swimming next morning.”

The party got louder. Kay told her guests that she was working with an LGBT book club to create Virginia Woolf’s Orlando in which a male aristocrat morphs into a woman , and a discussion began about the difference between sex and gender.

Dancers had insisted that Orlando was a transgender character and should be performed by a transgender or bisexual performer. Kay had disagreed saying: “Woolf knows anyone can change sex in their imagination but you can’t change sex in your actual body.”

“I had been having a debate with my management about audition notices for Orlando. For me it was wider than whether Orlando was gay or straight, transgender or not. I wanted them to be a fantastic performer. But I did not want to go on the whole trans angle.

“Suddenly the chat went very fast into: ‘You are wrong, Rosie. If the character of Orlando changes sex — that has to be a transgender person’. Then I said, ‘But can people actually change sex?’ It escalated into a really nasty argument.”

She said she retreated to the toilet for a bit, and then emerged and told them about “things about my own life which were harrowing to show them that biological reality is biological reality. Only a woman can know what it is like to die in childbirth for instance.”

Several of the dancers filed formal complaints about Kay being transphobic. An additional complaint emerged that Kay had “misgendered” a non-binary dancer by calling a group in rehearsal “boys”. Another complaint accused Kay of sex harassment because she had used the words “penis” and “vagina” at the dinner party debate. In an open letter after Kay resigned, six of the dancers said they had followed the company’s grievance procedures.

Kay, who said it had been “heartbreaking” having to resign from the company she had founded, said: “I did think I was going mad. It made me ill and I could not sleep or eat. I saw a psychiatrist. I was like: ‘Have I got this wrong?’

“Then I realised . . . there are amazing intelligent women saying what I am saying. There was a tweet from JK Rowling supporting me. Yes, I got caught up in the culture wars and, yes, that was difficult. This stuff can feel like the end of the world but it has not broken me. I am coming back bolder than ever.”

This week, Kay, 46, is celebrating her defiant return, with the launch of the K2CO dance company.

One of its first works will be an adaptation of Orlando, the staging of which had triggered last year’s dispute. K2CO will cast a woman as Orlando as Kay had originally envisaged.

In what is thought to be a first for a UK arts company, all K2CO’s dancers and staff will also be asked to sign a charter pledging “that the theatre is a place where we are free to express our thoughts and feelings without fear of being silenced, shut down or cancelled”.

Kay said it had been written into her new company’s objectives that she would explore controversial and taboo subjects, such as tackling the fear and machismo of war in her critically acclaimed ballet 5 Soldiers, which was about troops on the front line and was based on time she spent with an infantry regiment.

Free speech is threatened across the arts world, according to Kay, who says at least 15 other female artists have been “cancelled or no platformed or expelled with no recourse”.

They include Jess de Wahls, an embroidery artist whose work was removed by the Royal Academy of Arts because of what it described as her “transphobic views”. The museum later apologised and reinstated her work to the gift shop. De Wahls will sit on K2CO’s board along with Jan Teo, the former chief executive of the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

“I do feel freedom of speech is under threat in the whole of the arts,” says Kay. “I know that everyone is terrified. They live in constant fear of that attack — of saying something inadvertently in an interview even.”

Tomorrow Kay will speak at the House of Lords alongside Martina Navratilova, the tennis champion who lost sponsorship deals when she spoke out about fairness in sport. Kay will stress the importance of free speech and the arts’ ability to explore taboo subjects.

[theatrenews]

ICYMI: Mercury Musical Developments and Musical Theatre Network to create new base at Birmingham Hippodrome - #MercuryMusicalDevelopments @MercuryMusicals #MercuryMusicals http://dlvr.it/T5SnyZ

[entertainmehub]

ICYMI: Mercury Musical Developments and Musical Theatre Network to create new base at Birmingham Hippodrome - #MercuryMusicalDevelopments @MercuryMusicals #MercuryMusicals http://dlvr.it/T5Snfh