Birmingham Hippodrome has announced a record-breaking year, with paid admissions increasing to more than 625,000 tickets.
In the 2013/14 financial year, the Hurst Street theatre—an independent charity—sold 85% of its seats for productions including Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King and War Horse.
The Hippodrome’s chief executive Stuart Griffiths said, “It’s not very often that these programming moments come together so perfectly, but with more than a little help from our producer partners Cameron Mackintosh, Disney, the National Theatre and pantomime producers Qdos, it looks like we’ve shattered all previous records.
“It’s gratifying too that we’ve seen such a huge rise in first-time bookers, with more than 48% new to the Hippodrome in the past 12 months.”
He adds, “Dance received a boost with our resident partners Birmingham Royal Ballet presenting its most successful Nutcracker at Christmas; and Matthew Bourne’s sell-out Swan Lake.”
Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre Trust chair John Crabtree adds, “The success of the last financial year is already being used to invest in the programme and towards further developing a diverse audience.
“The month-long International Dance Festival Birmingham, co-produced with DanceXchange, starts at the end of April, South Africa’s Cape Town Opera returns in July with Show Boat while St Petersburg’s acclaimed Mariinsky Opera bring Wagner’s Ring Cycle to Birmingham in November.”
Fundraising experienced a bumper year, with corporate membership improving by more than 30% while individual donations through the Hippodrome’s patrons’ scheme almost doubled.
Crowning a memorable period, the Hippodrome featured in the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Not-for-Profit Organisations to Work For.