Birmingham Hippodrome have today (Thu 21 Apr) announced a line up of new productions for 2023. 

Newly announced productions include Birmingham Hippodrome Associates Motionhouse’s new family show Starchitects (3 – 4 Feb 2023), the award-winning Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty (7-11 Feb 2023) and the return of Titanic The Musical (18-22 Apr 2023) as part of the hit production’s 10th anniversary tour. Completing the line up of new shows for Spring 2023 is feel-good celebration of soul, The Commitments (24-29 April 2023) which will arrive in Birmingham after a record-breaking five-year run in London’s West End.

Chilina Madon, Director of Audiences and Communications at Birmingham Hippodrome said: “We are delighted to announce our first set of spectacular shows to look forward to in 2023 and this is just the start of another very exciting year for our audiences. Looking to the rest of 2022, we can’t wait for our vibrant season of new co-productions, the return of some of our favourite festivals and immersive theatre performed not just at the venue, but out in our city and region.”

Featured productions from the Hippodrome for this summer within the Birmingham 2022 Festival programme include world-renowned UK Choreographer Akram Khan’s brand-new dance-theatre production Jungle Book reimagined at the end of April and Shane Sahmbu’s bedazzling mix of comedy, theatre and dance in Confessions of a Cockney Temple Dancer in May.

In June, as part of Birmingham International Dance Festival, Birmingham and Barcelona based HUMANHOOD’s new production [Infinite] will guide audiences through a powerful, mystical journey. Birmingham Hippodrome’s B-SIDE Hip-Hop Festival (Sat 11 – Sun 19 Jun) returns to the heart of the city for its sixth year, with a week-long celebration of all things Hip-Hop.

Inspired by the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott and in partnership with China Plate, To The Streets! (19-28 Aug) will be performed open air at parks across the West Midlands in August. This uplifting new musical written by Roy Williams, with music and lyrics by Tim Sutton, tells the story of a pivotal moment in the UK’s civil rights history and will give audiences the opportunity to hear the songs from the show for the first time in concert style performances.

Soul City Arts, led by multi-disciplinary artist Mohammed Ali, will transform the Hippodrome’s Patrick Studio with their new immersive theatre experience WASWASA – Whispers in Prayer (25 Aug – 3 Sep) at the end of August. This dynamic installation explores the act of Islamic prayer and what that means in a modern, secular society and will feature a replica of the Birmingham Qu’ran, one of the oldest known in the world.

Birmingham Weekender festival (27 – 28 Aug) returns this August bank holiday weekend in partnership with Bullring & Grand Central, featuring a dynamic programme of events showcasing exciting new commissions, roaming and pop-up street theatre, family-friendly workshops and vibrant installations.

The Hippodrome will also host the BBC’s poetry and spoken word festival Contains Strong Language (Thu 8 – Sun 11 Sep) during September and closing the Birmingham 2022 Festival is the world premiere dance theatre production from Rambert and Birmingham Hippodrome of Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby (Tue 27 Sep – Sun 2 Oct), written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.

Chilina added: “We are incredibly proud to be working with so many brilliant partners to bring new stories to life and uplifting cultural experiences to people across the region.”

Tickets are on sale to Friends of Birmingham Hippodrome today and on general sale on Monday 25 April at 11am.