Blog

During the closure of the venue through the period of social distancing due to the Covid-19 situation, Darlington Hippodrome initiated a virtual quiz to help celebrate World Theatre Day using the online meetings app Zoom

Following the prime minister’s briefing yesterday, advising people not to visit theatres, Darlington Hippodrome has taken the difficult decision that forthcoming performances will not go ahead until further notice and the venue will be closed.

Darlington Hippodrome is following ongoing advice from Public Health England and we have updated our procedures to reflect this advice. This blog post covers some frequently asked questions about the theatre's response to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Packed with all of the traditional pantomime ingredients audiences expect, Cinderella features laugh out loud comedy, stunning scenery, beautiful costumes and plenty of boos and hisses.

Sixty years after the impassioned tale Lady Chatterley's Lover shocked the world, a stage version, coming to Darlington Hippodrome in March, presents itself to a very changed world. We caught up with Rupert Hill who portrays the pivotal role of Mellors the gamekeeper in this brand new stage adaptation.

English Youth Ballet is auditioning for roles in a new production of CINDERELLA IN HOLLYWOOD on Sunday 1 December at the Hippodrome. At the audition 100 young male and female dancers from across the region will be offered the chance to rehearse with and then dance alongside international professional principal dancers in the production for 3 performances which will be presented at the Hippodrome from 17 – 18 April 2020.

Get ready for the festive season this December as we celebrate Christmas at the Hipp with wreath making, a tree decoration workshop, the opportunity to meet Santa and more!

An artist from the Community Art Project based at The Bridge in Darlington has created a lovely artwork depicting the exterior of the theatre. We learnt more about the artist, Jennifer Smith, and the project.

In the first week of July, six first year students from Queen Elizabeth’s Sixth Form completed a week long work experience placement, learning about Darlington Hippodrome and researching the theatre’s heritage for a presentation to the staff at the end of the week.

Darlington Hippodrome’s fascinating 112 year history will soon be available to explore online thanks to an army of volunteers who have been working tirelessly behind the scenes for almost 2 years.

In January 2019, four lucky young local dance students took part in company class with the Russian State Ballet of Siberia at Darlington Hippodrome. Read about Rowan's experience in her blog post!

On 1 February 2019, Darlington Hippodrome launched a crowdfunding campaign to enable everyone to experience the transformative power of theatre.

Chris Wellings, one of our Audience Development and Participation Officers went to Nottingham Theatre Royal recently to get a sneak peek of Dracula and report back to us all here at the Hippodrome.

Over the last 18 months our Heritage Learning and Engagement Officer Cait Barratt has been working with the Darlington Culture Volunteers to develop the Hippodrome’s archive. The archive is made up of various theatre-related material; there are programmes, posters, leaflets, brochures, photographs, newspaper articles, buildings plans and lots of information about the 100s of productions staged in the building over the last 111 years. Find out how you can get involved!

Earlier this year Sue Wilson, Sales and Marketing Manager at Darlington Hippodrome, took the decision to retire after 24 years working for the theatre. Sue has seen many changes during this time including the closure of the Arts Centre and the fabulous restoration of the theatre which re-opened last November. Sue will be working at the theatre until mid December. Taking over in the position of Sales and Marketing Manager is Rebecca Howarth who has been an integral member of the Hippodrome’s marketing team for over seven years. Rebecca officially started her new role on Monday 1 October.

On Sunday 5 August 2018, we learnt that Barry Chuckle, of the legendary comedy duo The Chuckle Brothers, had passed away. Our Theatre Director, Lynda Winstanley, pays tribute.

School's out for summer! Did you know that Darlington Hippodrome's doors will remain open throughout August as we host a range of exciting activities and events for both children and adults? There'll be live music, theatre tours, craft and drama workshops, opportunities to view archive materials and an exciting Family Trail.

Customers using very old computers or internet browsers will no longer be able to buy tickets on our website.