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Home » Theater Guide » Location » United Kingdom » England » Darlington, County Durham » Civic Theatre
Also known as Hippodrome and Palace Theatre, Hippodrome Theatre, New Hippodrome Theatre

Civic Theatre

Darlington, County Durham, England
Parkgate
, Darlington, County Durham, England, United Kingdom DL1 1RR
(map)
+44.01325.486555
Status: Open
Screens: Single Screen
Style: Baroque
Function: Live Theatre
Seats: 901
Chain: Independent
Architect: George F. Ward
Firm: Owen & Ward
Add a photo for this theater!
The Hippodrome and Palace Theatre opened in 1907 and was owned and operated by Signor Rino Pepi, who operated several other local variety theatres. Designed by architect G. Gordon Hoskins, under the supervision of architect George F. Ward, of Owen & Ward. The original seating capacity was 1,082; 104 in the fautiles (front stalls), 243 in the orchestra stalls, 187 in the pit stalls, 274 in the dress circle and 378 in the gallery. There is a box located at dress circle level on each side of the proscenium.

There is delicate plaster decoration throughout the theatre, and above the two boxes there is a pedimented feature. The square proscenium is 28 feet wide, the stage 37 feet deep and there were eight dressing rooms (now rebuilt).

The Hippodrome and Palace Theatre was equipped to screen films from its opening, initally with a bioscope projector, which screened short subjects as one of the acts in the variety bill. Talkies were installed here and for a while it screened films , but soon returned to variety programmes. By 1937 it was operated by the E.J. Hinge cinema circuit of Newcastle upon Tyne. The seating capacity was given as 1,168 at that time. In 1949 it was taken over by the independent Stanley Rogers Cinemas circuit and became the New Hippodrome Theatre, and programming continued to vary between weeks of films and weeks of variety programmes. The New Hippodrome Theatre was closed in June 1956.

It lay closed and unused until 1958, when it was taken over by the local Council and re-opened as a live theatre, re-named Civic Theatre.

Related Websites

Civic Theatre - Darlington (Official)
Contributed by Ken Roe

YOUR COMMENTS

 
Some photographs of the Civic Theatre.....
Exterior in November 2007:
http://flickr.com/photos/14168877@N04/1952506613/
Entrance in July 2007;
http://flickr.com/photos/9234347@N05/845788366/
Auditorium view from a box in September 2008:
http://flickr.com/photos/superlekker/2852045574/
Auditorium viewed from the Dress Circle:
http://flickr.com/photos/superlekker/2852046520/
Auditorium viewed from the Stalls front row:
http://flickr.com/photos/superlekker/2851213337/
posted by KenRoe on Dec 15, 2008 at 5:45pm
I worked on a tour of 'A Chorus Line' back in the mid 80s that played a week here and back then the stage facilities were very limiting to say the least. The large orchestra for the show was housed upstairs, in the funtion room, of a pub up the road from the theatre and relayed back to the auditorium.
Beautiful, atmospheric theatre, well preserved.
posted by Ian -'adoraKiaOra on Dec 16, 2008 at 5:18am
A few more shots of the Civic from 1997 here:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/406838873/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/406838867/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/406838871/
posted by Ian on Dec 16, 2008 at 3:30pm
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