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((Short description|Historic building and casino in London))
((About|the theatre in the West End|the theatre in the London Borough of Barnet|Golders Green Hippodrome))
((Coord|51.5114|-0.1286|region:GB|display=title))
((Multiple issues|
((COI|date=March 2017))
((more citations needed|date=May 2013))
))
((Use dmy dates|date=November 2022))
((Use British English|date=May 2015))
((Infobox Theatre
|name           = London Hippodrome
|image          = File:The London Hippodrome.JPG
|caption        = London Hippodrome in 2017
|address        = [[Charing Cross Road]]
|city           = [[City of Westminster|Westminster]], [[London]]
|country        =
|designation    = [[Listed building|Grade II listed]]
|latitude       =
|longitude      =
|architect      = [[Frank Matcham]]
|owner          = 
|capacity       = 1340 seated (1909)
|type           = [[circus]] and [[variety show]]s
|opened         = 1900
|rebuilt        = 1958
|closed         =
|production     =
|currentuse     = Casino
|website        = ((URL|hippodromecasino.com))
))
The '''Hippodrome''' is a building on the corner of [[Cranbourn Street]] and [[Charing Cross Road]] in the [[City of Westminster]], [[London]]. The name was used for many different [[theatre]]s and [[music hall]]s, of which the '''London Hippodrome''' is one of only a few survivors. ''[[wikt:hippodrome|Hippodrome]]'' is an archaic word referring to places that host horse races and other forms of equestrian entertainment.

==History==
===Hippodrome===
The London Hippodrome was opened in 1900. It was designed by [[Frank Matcham]] for [[Moss Empires]] chaired by [[Edward Moss (impresario)|Edward Moss]] and built for £250,000 as a [[hippodrome]] for [[circus]] and [[variety show|variety]] performances. The venue gave its first show on 15 January 1900,<ref>[http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Archive/September2003/FrontPage.htm ''London Hippodrome'' (Special feature, September 2003, Arthur Lloyd)] accessed 18 October 2007.</ref> a [[music hall]] revue entitled "Giddy Ostend" with [[Little Tich]]. The conductor was [[Georges Jacobi]].<ref>[https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O127980/silk-programme-unknown/ Silk Programme for the Hippodrome (1900)] – [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] Collection</ref>

Entry to the venue was through a bar, dressed as a ship's saloon. The performance space featured both a [[proscenium]] stage and an arena that sank into a 230&nbsp;ft, 100,000 gallon water tank (about 400 tons, when full) for aquatic spectacles. The tank featured eight central fountains, and a circle of fountains around the side. Entrances at the side of the auditorium could also be flooded, and used for the entry of boats.<ref name=programme>Theatre Programme for 30 July 1900, see Arthur Lloyd site.</ref> Shows included equestrian acts, elephants and polar bears, and acrobats would dive from a [[minstrels' gallery]] above a sliding roof, in the centre of the [[proscenium arch]]. The auditorium featured [[cantilever]]ed galleries, removing the columns that often obstructed views in London theatres, the whole was covered by a painted glass retractable roof, that could be illuminated at night.<ref name=programme/> The building included the headquarters of [[Moss Empires]].<ref>[http://www.hipevents.co.uk/ Hip events (History section)] ((webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070628221802/http://hipevents.co.uk/ |date=28 June 2007 )) accessed 18 October 2007.</ref>

===Theatre 1909–1951===
In 1909, it was reconstructed by Matcham as a music-hall and variety theatre with 1340 seats in stalls, mezzanine, gallery and upper gallery levels. It was here that [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]]'s ''[[Swan Lake]]'' received its English première by the [[Ballets Russes]] in 1910. The [[Albert de Courville]] revues were performed here from December 1912.

The Hippodrome hosted the first official jazz gig in the United Kingdom, by the [[Original Dixieland Jazz Band]], in 1919.<ref name =Standard/>

Its reputation was for [[revue]] and [[musical comedy]], among them ''[[The Five O'Clock Girl]]'', the West End production of [[Vincent Youmans]]' hit Broadway musical ''[[Hit the Deck (musical)|Hit The Deck]]'' (1928) and also ''[[Mr. Cinders]]'', both in 1929; [[Ivor Novello]]'s ''[[Perchance to Dream (musical)|Perchance to Dream]]'' in 1945 with [[Margaret Rutherford]]; and the revue ''High Spirits'' in 1953 with [[Cyril Ritchard]] and [[Diana Churchill (actress)|Diana Churchill]]. [[Julie Andrews]] made her stage debut here at the age of 12. From 1949 to 1951 it was the London equivalent of the [[Folies Bergère]].

===The Talk of the Town===
The original interior was demolished in 1958, and [[Bernard Delfont]] had the Hippodrome converted into the [[nightclub]] The Talk of the Town. It featured appearances by many of the popular artistes of the time,<ref>[http://www.richardmmills.com/talk1.html Performers at The Talk of the Town.]</ref> including [[Diana Ross & The Supremes]], [[Judy Garland]],<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.btinternet.com/~judyin.london/judyil10.htm |title=''Judy wows 'em with songs to remember'', Diana Ross and the Supremes, James Green (fan site) |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120723172934/http://www.btinternet.com/~judyin.london/judyil10.htm |archive-date=23 July 2012 |url-status=dead  )) accessed 18 October 2007((dead link|date=November 2012|bot=Legobot))</ref> [[Eartha Kitt]], [[Shirley Bassey]],<ref>Shirley Bassey ''Live at Talk of the Town'' (#38 1970).</ref> [[The Temptations]],<ref>1970, ''[[Live at London's Talk of the Town (Temptations album)]]''.</ref> [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Mel Torme]], [[Sammy Davis Jr.]], [[Lena Horne]], [[Sergio Franchi]], [[Sophie Tucker]], [[Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)|Engelbert Humperdinck]], [[Dusty Springfield]], [[Val Doonican]], [[Lonnie Donegan]], [[The Carpenters]], [[John Denver]], [[Ella Fitzgerald]], [[Liza Minnelli]], [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]], [[Cleo Laine]], [[The Jackson 5]], [[Buddy Rich]], [[Lulu (singer)|Lulu]], [[Danny La Rue]], [[Cilla Black]], [[Petula Clark]], [[Paul Anka]], [[Glen Campbell]], [[Anne Murray]], [[Sandie Shaw]], [[Johnnie Ray]], [[Matt Monro]], [[The Andrews Sisters]], [[Dolores Gray]], [[Frankie Vaughan]], [[Cliff Richard]], [[The Shadows]], [[Channing Pollock (magician)]], [[Dionne Warwick]], [[Raphael (singer)|Raphael]], [[The Seekers]], [[Stevie Wonder]], [[Sacha Distel]] and [[Neil Sedaka]]. In February 1964, [[Ethel Merman]] made her only British appearance in a season of cabaret. [[Dusty Springfield]] recorded a TV special at the venue, broadcast 15 February 1968 on [[BBC2]] ''Show of the Week: Live at the Talk of the Town''.<ref>((Cite web|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/9201b12c34cd4072bb7b16ca5e24cb3b|title = Broadcast – BBC Programme Index))</ref> [[The Seekers]]' final concert was recorded for the album ''The Seekers Live at The Talk of the Town'' in July 1968. [[Tony Bennett]] set his 1972 series for [[Thames Television]], ''[[Tony Bennett at the Talk of the Town]]'', there. This form of entertainment, in its turn, fell out of public favour, and the venue closed in 1982.

In 2009, the Hippodrome was named by the [[Brecon Jazz Festival]] as one of 12 venues which had made the most important contributions to jazz music in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name=Standard>[http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23727267-buckingham-palace-hits-right-note-with-jazz-fans.do "Buckingham Palace hits right note with jazz fans"] ((webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100426000757/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23727267-buckingham-palace-hits-right-note-with-jazz-fans.do |date=26 April 2010 )), ''London Evening Standard'' (3 August 2009).</ref>

The musical drama ''[[End of the Rainbow]]'', nominated for a number of [[Olivier Awards]] in 2011 during its London run and [[Tony Awards]] in 2012 while on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], is set at the Talk of The Town during a Judy Garland engagement there near the end of her life.

===The London Hippodrome===
Renovated yet again, the building was reopened as a nightclub/restaurant called The London Hippodrome by nightclub tycoon [[Peter Stringfellow]] in 1983. Some years later, Stringfellow sold it to a chain company called European Leisure. Under the stewardship of David Chipping the club went on to win many BEDA and DI awards, regularly attracting crowds in excess of 2,000. Following its sale to Luminar, the club soon went out of fashion. It was not until April 2004 that the Hippodrome regained its standing, when it was transformed into Cirque at the Hippodrome. The interior was taken back to hues of reds and golds, and [[burlesque]] was the theme. Cirque at the Hippodrome won the BEDA award for best UK nightclub in 2004.

It was revealed in October 2005 that the club had lost its public drinks licence and would no longer be able to serve alcohol, as the local police did not want what they called "vertical drinking" (the majority of patrons standing rather than sitting) in Leicester Square. The police also shut down most of the venues in the local area. Following this, in December 2005, the club was eventually forced to close, following reports of violence involving rival gangs after they had left the building of the Hippodrome, which reflected on its closure later in Westminster licensing court.

===The Hippodrome Events Space & Theatre ===
In January 2006, entrepreneur Charmaine Haig took over the lease of the Hippodrome building on a short term before a casino licence application could be secured for future use. Haig initially maintained and managed the empty venue on her own, and then changed the venue's name back to the London Hippodrome from its previous name of Cirque.

Shortly afterward, Haig's in-house events company, Hip Events, began running private events in the venue, but once again using the space to its full capacity as a variety venue with album launches, dance shows, gala dinners, awards ceremonies and Leicester Square film premiere after parties.

In 2008, Haig and her business partner acquired a theatre licence for the venue and subsequently turned the venue back into a theatre. The adult cabaret show ''[[La Clique]]'' was found at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2008; by the beginning of October 2008, the show previewed at the London Hippodrome with great success, and stayed running until the end of Haig's Hippodrome lease in June 2009. During this time, the show ''La Clique'' at the Hippodrome won an [[Olivier Award]] in 2009, in the "Best Entertainment" category.

===The Hippodrome Casino===
In 2009, the lease on the Hippodrome was acquired by Leicester-born father and son entrepreneurs Jimmy and Simon Thomas, who began an extensive restoration programme taking the Hippodrome back to Matcham's original designs for use as a casino and entertainment venue. During the planning stage, the adjacent Cranbourn Mansions building became available and plans were redrafted to incorporate this former gentlemen's apartment block into the design, doubling the eventual floorspace and linked using a new structure sited within the existing light well between the two buildings.

Investment in the building reportedly came to over £40&nbsp;million, the funds being raised by the Thomas family from the sale of a number of bingo halls prior to the UK smoking ban, which made it illegal to smoke within an enclosed workplace, on 1 July 2007.

The Hippodrome Casino was opened on 13 July 2012 by Mayor of London [[Boris Johnson]], who described it as "yet another ringing endorsement of London as a great place to invest".

The venue on opening included four floors of gaming, including a Gold Room casino sited in the original basement<ref>((cite web |title=Basement Waterproofing – Hippodrome Casino |url=http://www.cellars.co.uk/case-studies/basement-waterproofing-hippodrome-casino |access-date=17 September 2013))</ref> with access directly into Chinatown to the rear of the building, Heliot restaurant, six bars, a smoking terrace and The Matcham Room cabaret theatre. The restoration and construction of the casino was followed on the blog of LBC presenter Steve Allen.<ref>((cite web |last=Allen |first=Steve |title=Sneak Peek: A Look At The New London Hippodrome |url=http://www.lbc.co.uk/sneak-peek-a-look-at-the-new-london-hippodrome-55898/view/25976#25969|access-date=17 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140126063940/http://www.lbc.co.uk/sneak-peek-a-look-at-the-new-london-hippodrome-55898/view/25976#25969 |archive-date=26 January 2014 ))</ref>

In January 2013 the casino was awarded Best Land-based Casino at the Totally Gaming Awards, which also gave Jimmy Thomas a Life Achievement award for his contribution to the gaming and entertainment industries.

On 4 March 2013, Simon Thomas announced the opening of Pokerstars LIVE, a collaboration between the Hippodrome and [[Pokerstars]], the world's largest online poker website. While initially on the fourth floor, in 2020 Pokerstars LIVE moved to the third floor where it currently resides.

The Matcham Room at the Hippodrome Casino is currently the home of Magic Mike Live London<ref>((cite web|title=In Pictures: Magic Mike Live London|url=https://www.magicmikelondon.co.uk|access-date=16 August 2021))</ref> (created and produced by Channing Tatum).

In 2020, construction was completed on an expansion of the fourth floor smoking area to include gaming, and the creation of 'The Rooftop', a new bar and dining space, on the fifth floor.<ref>((cite web |url=https://www.hippodromecasino.com/venue-guide/ |title=Venue Guide – Hippodrome Casino |website=www.hippodromecasino.com |access-date=16 August 2021))</ref>

==See also==
*[[Hammersmith Palais]]
*[[Live at the Talk of the Town (disambiguation)]]

== References ==
((Reflist))

==External links==
((Commons category|London Hippodrome))
*[http://www.hippodromecasino.com/ Official website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080920223955/http://www.lacliquelondon.com/ La Clique website]
*
*[http://www.richardmmills.com/talk1.html  "Talk of the Town" performances]
*[http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/LondonHippodrome.htm History of the London Hippodrome]
*[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4834411.ece The Sunday Times]

((Authority control))

[[Category:Casinos in England]]
[[Category:Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster]]
[[Category:Former theatres in London]]
[[Category:Former music hall venues in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Theatres completed in 1900]]
[[Category:Jazz clubs in London]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in the City of Westminster]]
[[Category:Leicester Square]]
[[Category:Music venues completed in 1900]]
[[Category:Art Nouveau architecture in London]]
[[Category:Art Nouveau theatres]]
[[Category:1900 establishments in England]]

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