Two-phase reopening for Birmingham Hippodrome

Published: 28 April 2021
Reporter: Steve Orme

Van Gogh Alive: returning to Birmingham Hippodrome Credit: Simon Hadley
Jodie Prenger as Emma in Tell Me on a Sunday Credit: Tristram Kenton

Birmingham Hippodrome has announced a two-phase plan for reopening, with a major exhibition returning for an eight-week run before the building becomes a theatre again for Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black's musical Tell Me on a Sunday.

Van Gogh Alive, “the world’s most visited immersive, multi-sensory experience”, made its UK première in October 2020 and was seen by almost 30,000 people in its first few weeks.

The Hippodrome’s artistic director and chief executive, Fiona Allan, said, "Van Gogh Alive is incredibly important to us all at the Hippodrome as it was the only way we found to reopen the building during a year without any live performance.

“We were taken aback by the public response we had, both to the beauty and joy of this enriching cultural experience, and how safe our visitors felt with timed entry and social distancing measures in place.

"It’s brilliant that we’ve found a way to reopen Van Gogh Alive for a limited run, from 25 May until 11 July, as we know so many people were disappointed to miss out when we went back into lockdown last November."

The Hippodrome will then take six weeks to transform the auditorium back into a theatre, reopening with Jodie Prenger in Tell Me on a Sunday from Tuesday 24 until Saturday 28 August—the first time in almost 18 months that a live performance will have been seen at the Hippodrome.

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