The Bristol Hippodrome: Did you know?
Posted on: 05 Dec 2013The Bristol Hippodrome is the city’s very own West End theatre and opened its doors on 16 December 1912 when the curtain rose for the first time on what was generally agreed to be theatre developer Oswald Stoll’s most magnificent provincial venue.
The building itself is grade II listed by English Heritage and retains many of the original features to remain a superb example of the grand architecture of the late Victorian era. It opened as a masterpiece of design by Frank Matcham, the most eminent theatre architect of his time.
One of Matcham’s most spectacular features was the construction of a huge water tank in front of the stage, which could be filled with one hundred thousand gallons of water within one minute and allowed the theatre to combine stage, circus and aquatic performances. To protect the orchestra and those sitting in the Front Stalls from becoming soaked by the heavy spray which resulted from some of those effects, an enormous glass screen could be raised by the single movement of a lever.
A unique feature of the theatre, which unlike the water tank survives today, is the ornate dome in the roof above the stalls, which can still be opened to reveal the sky above. The auditorium is now fitted with a modern air-cooling system meaning the dome is rarely opened though many audiences still marvel at this event during intervals and still request its opening. It is possibly the only remaining dome of it's type that remains operational in the UK.
Towards the beginning of the century, the theatre staged a variety of Musical Hall acts. Since then The Bristol Hippodrome and its stage, which is one of the largest theatre stages in Britain, has established itself on the touring circuit for all major musical productions, thus becoming known as Bristol’s West End Theatre.
In 1948 after having spent the war years making an enormous contribution to Bristols morale with a continuous run of performances the theatre was tragically struck by fire and almost completely destroyed. The annual pantomime that year was Babes in the Wood and sometime on the afternoon of 16 February a fire broke out backstage that quickly spread to engulf the stage itself. Fierce flames leaping as high as thirty feet gutted the entire rear portion of the theatre, but the auditorium and roof were saved after an heroic effort from Fire Brigade. The conflagration was halted at the orchestra pit and miraculously the damage sustained in the rest of the theatre was caused chiefly by smoke and water.
No definite cause of the fire has ever been established and an investigation concluded that it was most likely started by a carelessly discarded match or cigarette from someone leaving the theatre. After a major rebuild and refurbishment that year The Bristol Hippodrome reopend to packed crowds and rapturous applause on 24 December 1948 with a performance of Cinderella and popular comedian Ted Ray.
The theatre has diversified over the years to gain a well deserved reputation for hosting spectacular shows from across the spectrum of live theatrical entertainment. From top West End productions like Cats, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, We Will Rock You, Dirty Dancing and Legally Blonde, through to regular visits from the best in Opera and Ballet, Comedy, Family and Childrens Shows, Concerts of all kinds and even the Circus!
The history of The Bristol Hippodrome includes a number of premieres including the European theatre debuts of The Music Man and Sail Away, British premieres of both Guys & Dolls and Jeeves plus world premiers of Windy City, Mary Poppins and The Nutcracker by the English National Ballet.
All these and more have all thrilled audiences at The Bristol Hippodrome down the years and continue to do so today. Tickets for all Bristol perfomances are available here from ATG Tickets. A free mailing list is also available by post or email for those theatre goers wishing to be kept up-to-date about all current and future events.