Birmingham Hippodrome invests in producing new work for our stages and beyond.
This is a very exciting direction for the organisation, in particular creating work that speaks to our city and region.
Some of these productions are created in partnership with other arts organisations, companies, funders and producers, while some are fully created from scratch solely by Birmingham Hippodrome.
Explore our produced work below.
Upcoming and Recent Productions
Hot Mess
Vicky Graham Productions, Birmingham Hippodrome and Aria Entertainment with Pascal Ultee Productions, Broadway Asia International, TRW Production and Willette Klausner present the Birmingham Hippodrome Production of HOT MESS: A New Musical.
The multi award-winning, 5-star new musical that took the Edinburgh Festival and played in London for a strictly limited summer season, before returning this summer to The Other Palace.
After a billion years of bad dates, Earth has finally found the one… Humanity. Sparks fly. Seeds are sown. Ground is broken. But what begins as a passionate love affair between the universe’s most iconic couple quickly descends into a hot mess.
From the creators of 42 Balloons, Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote, comes an original pop musical about love, hope, and the ultimate breakup.
Previous Productions
No Such Thing As Wolves
A fun-filled musical adventure from Gerard Foster and Richie Webb – two of the writers behind Horrible Histories.
No Such Thing As Wolves follows the story of Hettie Hedgehog, who is ready to hibernate – until her new friend, Sydney Squirrel, convinces her to throw a party instead. But when two mysterious guests arrive with great big ears and pointy teeth, things get paws-itively wild.
Created for everyone aged three and over, No Such Thing As Wolves will premiere in the Patrick Studio in December 2025. It’s the latest festive show presented under the banner of My First Musical.
The Jingleclaw
A festive family musical by Robyn Grant and Tim Gilvin – the New Musical Theatre department’s first commissioned show under banner, My First Musical.
In a cosy village nestled in the snowy mountains, the Shnootnoot Winter Festival is fast approaching. Astrid is busy practising to play with her school band.
Everyone wants her to keep in time, but Astrid just wants to march to the beat of her own drum. Meanwhile, deep in the Winterwood, The Jingleclaw awakes, a mischievous monster who can’t STAND festive cheer and music.
This production premiered in the Patrick Studio in December 2024 to roaring critical approval.
★★★★★ “As a first step in Birmingham Hippodrome’s ambition to create its own ‘goosebump’ theatre, The Jingleclaw is hugely successful and will hopefully have a life well beyond this Christmas.” – WhatsOnStage
★★★★★ “A spectacularly dazzling, foot-tapping, extravagant and original musical that is truly not one to miss” – Express and Star
You can stomp along to original music from The Jingleclaw on all major streaming platforms!
This Is A Love Story
In February 2023, we staged workshop performances in the Patrick Studio of a brand-new pop musical telling the 200,000-year love story between Earth and Humanity.
With Music & Lyrics by Jack Godfrey and Book & Additional Lyrics by Ellie Coote.
Tales from Acorn Wood
We supported the development of this new family production, bringing Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s beloved tales to life on stage for the first time,
Packed full of toe-tapping songs, puppetry, the show then went onto a UK tour.
Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders
Produced in association with Rambert, this major dance theatre event had its world premiere on our stage in September 2022, returning by popular demand in May 2023.
Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders delves into the backstory of Tommy Shelby and is written by Steven Knight, the creator of the global hit television series.
The Color Purple
We worked with Curve in Leicester on a UK tour of our prize-winning 2019 co-production of The Color Purple.
The tour opened on our stage in September 2022 before heading to seven venues around the country, including The Lowry in Manchester, Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff and Theatre Royal Plymouth.
To The Streets!
Presented as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival and in partnership with China Plate, we staged a concert version of an uplifting new musical, inspired by the Bristol Bus Boycott of 1963.
With an explosive, feel-good score bursting with ska, calypso and rock ‘n’ roll, the show was performed in Handsworth Park, Birmingham, Windmill Hill, Coventry and West Park, Wolverhampton.
Akram Khan’s Jungle Book Reimagined
We invested in the development of this significant work by Akram Khan, a magical dance-theatre production retelling Kipling’s family classic.
West Side Story
As a centrepiece of our 120th birthday celebrations, Birmingham Hippodrome presented its first home-grown youth production for the main stage in August 2019.
We brought together a high profile creative team and discovered exceptional young talent from across the West Midlands following an open audition call out.
The Color Purple: The Musical
Directed by Tinuke Craig, The Color Purple is our first co-production with the Curve in Leicester and was presented on our main stage in July 2019.
The production opened to five star reviews and was nominated for Best Musical Production at the UK Theatre Awards 2019 and Best Regional Production at the WhatsOnStage Awards 2019.
Danielle Fiamanya, who played Nettie, won The Stage Debut Award 2019 for Best Actress in a Musical
Reparation Island
Based on true stories and performed by the armed forces community, Reparation Island premiered in our Patrick Studio in June 2019.
Renowned Playwright and Poet, Kevin Fegan, was commissioned to gather stories from the armed forces community and to write this bold and inventive new play. The creative team included Christopher Elmer-Gorry as Director, Slick as Lighting Designer, Adrienne Quartly as Sound Designer and Rachel Baynton as Set and Costume Designer.