The Brighton Hippodrome was built in 1897, designed by Lewis Karslake of the London architectural firm Karslake and Mortimer. The building was originally an ice-skating rink but this pastime did not take off in Brighton, as had been hoped, perhaps because of the competition from the roller-skating rink in nearby West Street. By 1901 the building was empty and Frank Matcham, one of the leading theatre architects of the period, was commissioned to convert it into a circus. This is where the Hippodrome gets its name, from the Greek for ‘course for horses’. Paul Bouissac, in Semiotics at the Circus, wrote of another Matcham design at the Blackpool Tower: ‘No other circus in the world can match the temple atmosphere created by Frank Matcham’s decoration, its gilded cast iron pillars and freezes [sic], the deep red of its walls and seat rows, the intimacy conveyed by the proximity of the public to the ring.’ Despite the ornate design, the circus too was unsuccessful and the building was then acquired by Tom Barrasford who commissioned Matcham to carry out further work to create a variety theatre.
The theatre opened on 24 December 1902. In that same year Barrasford took over the 1,250-seat Empire Theatre of Varieties in New Road, almost next door to the Theatre Royal, and renamed it the Coliseum. In 1909 the Coliseum, run by Barrasford’s wife Maud, was fitted out as a cinema and changed its name again, this time to the Court Cinema.
The Hippodrome was sold in 1910 to Walter de Frece, who was married to the music hall star Vesta Tilley, famous for singing songs like ‘Burlington Bertie’ whilst dressed as a man. De Frece was knighted in 1919 for his work in providing entertainment for the troops but eventually sold his chain of theatres to pursue a political career. In 1928 the Hippodrome was acquired by Gaumont-British Picture Corporation and became part of Moss Empires, the UK’s largest variety theatre chain. Films were shown at the Hippodrome on Sundays (theatres had to close on Sundays but cinemas could remain open).
Between 1902 and 1964 most of the biggest names in variety theatre appeared at the Hippodrome: Sarah Bernhardt, Lillie Langtry, Harry Houdini, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton, Gracie Fields, Max Miller, the Crazy Gang, Laurence Olivier, Arthur Askey, Tony Hancock, Dickie Henderson. By the 1960s the Hippodrome had become famous as a pop music venue with both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones appearing on the stage that was once built for a circus.
But, as Max Mephisto prophesied, variety was dying. The pantomime The Frog Prince, performed at Christmas 1964, was the Hippodrome’s last show. The theatre closed early in 1965. There was a plan to turn the venue into a cabaret club but, after a brief spell as a television studio, the Hippodrome became a Mecca Bingo hall. However, like variety, bingo eventually lost its audience and the Hippodrome finally closed in 2007.
The lease was taken by Academy Music Group (AMG), which planned to revive the Hippodrome as a live music venue. It was believed that plans were still in development when a proposal emerged to convert the Hippodrome and adjacent buildings into an eight-screen cinema with four restaurants. A planning application was submitted in February 2014. A local campaign group, Our Brighton Hippodrome, was formed to oppose this proposal. Our Brighton Hippodrome intends to revive the Hippodrome as a live entertainment venue and to revitalise the surrounding area. In April 2015, a stakeholder group (including AMG, Brighton and Hove City Council and the Frank Matcham Society) embarked on a viability study to identify a future use for the theatre. The Hippodrome is number one on the Theatres Trust’s Theatre Buildings at Risk Register and is high on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register.
Today, the Hippodrome is closed but inside, incredibly, a great deal of Matcham’s opulent design remains. Mecca Bingo preserved much of the interior and you can even still see the signs to the ‘special fauteuils’. To find out more about the campaign to save this unique Grade II listed variety theatre, see the Facebook page ‘Save the Brighton Hippodrome’ or go to the website www.ourhippodrome.org.uk. Thanks to the ‘Our Hippodrome’ website for this information.
The Hippodrome has seen a lot in its time but I need hardly say that the events of this book are entirely imaginary. Nor do any of my theatre employees or artistes resemble anyone ever employed by the theatre.