The Aston Hippodrome (), also known as The Hipp, was a popular

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

in the

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre. History Aston wa ...

area of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

."Aston Hippodrome Theatre"
''Cinema Treasures''. Retrieved 2016-04-11. It was opened to the public on 7 December 1908 after the completion of construction at a cost of £10,000. It was designed by

James and Lister Lea James & Lister Lea was an architectural and property consultancy firm active in England between 1846 and 2001. Established by brothers James Lea and Lister Lea, the partnership was initially focused only on architecture. Together, the brothers des ...

who had also designed the ''

Bartons Arms The Bartons Arms () is a public house in the High Street (part of the A34) in the Newtown area of Aston, Birmingham, England. Built in 1900-1901 by noted pub architects partnership James and Lister Lea for Mitchells & Butlers, it is a grade ...

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

just a few yards away on the other side of the street. The theatre was seriously damaged in 1938 by a fire which resulted in a £38,000 refurbishment. On 4 June 1960, the theatre building ceased performances with the final performance a revue, A to Z of Striptease. The building was renovated into a

bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** Bi ...

hall and remained so until its demolition in September 1980. The Drum, an arts centre, is located on the theatre's site. Performances were held twice daily and amongst these performances were famous acts such as

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

Larry Grayson Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment *Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer * Larry Boon ...

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working i ...

and

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

who performed there in 1951. The opening chapter of

Ron Dawson Ronald Leslie Dawson (born 1940) is a Special Educational Needs (SEN) educator, psychologist, researcher and author and co-author of numerous books and articles concerning the education of pupils with SEN. His most important publication is The ...

's novel, ''The Last Viking'', vividly describes one of the 'strip tease shows' which dominated the Hipp's offerings during the mid to late 1950s. The show was called 'Heatwave' and the scene captures the sad atmosphere of the 'artistic tableaux' which characterised these shows.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Birmingham City Council - Information on the theatreBirmingham City Council - Image of the theatreAstonbrook through Astonmanor - The Aston Hippodrome performances and management history
Theatres completed in 1908 Buildings and structures in Birmingham, West Midlands Former theatres in Birmingham, West Midlands Demolished buildings and structures in the West Midlands (county) 1908 establishments in England