Just before Christmas, whilst the snow was falling on the stage in the Hippodrome’s run of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, the drink was flowing in the new stalls bar. The new team responsible for the running of the Royal Hippodrome Theatre discovered last summer that the stalls coffee room was suffering from damp rot.
The Council, who are still responsible for the fabric of the building fixed the problem but it meant that the area needed to be refurbished. Using the proceeds from the Exit collection that has been taking place since April 2013 the team were able to improve the facility by introducing a new Stalls Bar and on 23rd December there was an official opening of the bar by Stephen Lloyd MP and Mayor, Mike Thompson.
The new bar has been built so that more people can serve at the same time meaning that patrons can get that interval drink very quickly. Tea and Coffee is also sold from the bar. With very reasonably priced drinks (spirit and mixer currently just £3), it is already proving popular with patrons to the theatre with many making use of it before the show starts as it is open for when people arrive.