The Hippodrome Returns
Strictly Musicals 2
Until Saturday 25th November
2017
The
Darlington Civic closed in order to undergo a major £12.7 million refit. The
work is now complete and the venue has reopened as the Hippodrome. Strictly
Musicals 2 is the opening show and it is fitting that the show, from the
Darlington Operatic Society, is a complete sell out. This shows there is a
demand for high quality theatre in Darlington .
Firstly a
few words about the theatre. It feels very different as you enter the building,
partly because you now go in through the other side of the building. But partly
because they have effectively added a new building to the side that used to
have a restaurant and the box office. There are now of number of bars on each
level and various galleries to enjoy as you wait for the auditorium to open. It
has a modern and clean feel which is contrast to the historic wonder of the
interior of the actual auditorium itself.
The venue
didn’t appear to be suffering any first night nerves and things were running
smoothly. I hope there will be a few more signs going up. It wasn’t obvious
where the box office was nor was there much signage on the upper levels to
explain the direction to the seats from the main stairs/lifts. I also actually missed the super fast hand
dryers that were in the old building. Sad but true - these are minor quibbles
and I was very impressed with the new parts of the building.
Once inside
we have new seating. I was in the dress circle and found the seat comfy for the
3 hours that I was sat in it and the leg room was sufficient. Not all recent
theatre refurbs have installed comfy seating so that was a definite plus. I had
a look at the stalls and I noticed the aisles have moved to the very edge of
the room so more seats are centrally located in front of the stage. The red décor has gone and the auditorium has
a historic yet fresh look about it.
On to the
show. The first act had medleys from Top Hat, Phantom of the Opera, We Will
Rock You and Joseph plus an additional 9 songs making for a long run before the
interval. The individual songs were a eclectic mix from the likes of Ghost,
Starlight Express, Wicked and Jersey Boys. Highlights were definitely the
Phantom medley and Hard Candy Christmas
from Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
The second
act, for me was a little tighter. Opening with a Mamma Mia medley, it had
popular hits from Miss Saigon and Chess. Highlights included Luke Oldfield
leading the chorus on the fabulous Run Freedom Run (lets hope one day
Darlington gets to see the full musical); Julian Cound and Sam Morrison’s duet Same Umbrella in the Rain from Little
Women and the fabulous Seasons of Love
from Rent. The second half also featured some less well known musicals too.
The show
had a costume change for each song so clearly the changing rooms were being put
to the test too.
The evening
featured a large number of really talented singers and dancers supported by a
band which had real quality. Perhaps the evening would have been tighter if it
had been a little bit shorter and a couple of the more obscure songs had been
cut out from each act. That aside, the
evening was enjoyable and it is a fine start for the theatre. I look forward to
returning to the venue again soon for the panto.
Review by Stephen Oliver .
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