Our Heritage Volunteers look back at our history with Sir Matthew Bourne

In 1979, when the City of Birmingham bought Birmingham Hippodrome from Moss Empires, the theatre building found itself unable to accommodate many of the big touring companies. Architectural constraints resulted in restricted views of the stage and production for much of the audience. Despite the fact that audience attendance figures were generally the best of any theatre outside London, major touring companies expected a larger stage than that which the Hippodrome could offer.

However, in just a decade, financial support reaching up to £4 million for renovations made Birmingham Hippodrome available for staging operas, ballets and major musicals due to the increased size of the stage. With its seating capacity extended to almost 1900, it soon started to become a point of attraction for successful companies from classical to contemporary. Matthew Bourne’s productions, which were dazzling the country with his modern take on classical favourites, first graced the Hippodrome stage in the early 1990’s.

Matthew Bourne’s ground-breaking production of Swan Lake met Birmingham for the first time in March 1996 at Birmingham Hippodrome. Audience members left amazed telling the Sunday Mercury that it “far exceeded my expectations” and offering congratulations to the theatre on hosting “this very interesting interpretation of the well-known ballet”.

From Nutcracker! to Cinderella, Play Without Words to Dorian Gray, Bourne’s “modern day classics” have been crucial in the narrative of the theatre, attracting a new audience of dance lovers to Birmingham Hippodrome.

Sleeping Beauty is an all-time favourite and holds significance in Birmingham Hippodrome’s history. The 1990 move of Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet to their current purpose-built facilities in Birmingham, and their name change to Birmingham Royal Ballet was celebrated with a two-week inaugural season. In this new bond between the theatre and ballet, Sleeping Beauty, with its large cast and hundreds of roles, proved itself to be one of the greatest successes of Birmingham Royal Ballet, and has remained so since. Matthew Bourne’s Gothic take on Sleeping Beauty which was first performed at Birmingham Hippodrome in February 2013, proves to be no exception in mesmerising the audience.

Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty returns to our stage from 9-13 Feb. Book tickets online now or via our Box Office on 0844 338 5000 (charges apply).

Blog post written by Hippodrome Heritage volunteers Berrak Rodriguez Sanmartin and Elizabeth Maxfield.

Heart FM’s Ed James chats to Hippodrome Heritage volunteer Ivan Hoard in our latest podcast – listen now