Iconic theatre back on track

The historic Todmorden Hippodrome Theatre is well on the way to recovery after the floods thanks to the hard work and dedication of volunteers.

After the Boxing Day deluge, the whole of the stalls and foyer were submerged, so the theatre has been at the centre of a major refurbishment.

Over the last few weeks, the Hippodrome stage crew has installed 30 new sets of pulleys and received help from the Todmorden Pals to rope up the system.

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A spokesperson for Todmorden Amateur Ooperatic and Dramatic Society said: “The whole operation ran with military precision and was completed in a little over three hours. We are extremely grateful to the Pals for their tremendous help with this task, which would otherwise have taken our crew several weeks to complete.”

The Todmorden Pals were formed by the Todmorden brancg of the British Legion in 2012 as part of commemoration events to mark the centenary of the Great War. To mark the opening of the refurbished theatre in June, the play ‘The Accrington Pals’ will run from Tuesday, June 28 until Friday, July 1. Darren Widdup, current secretary of the British Legion in Todmorden will play the role of CSM Rivers in the play. He says he auditioned for the part in commemoration of all those who died in the Great War.

And later in the year, Manford’s Comedy Club, run by award-winning comedian Jason Manford, will hit the theatre. On September 23 and 24, comedians carefully selected by the man himself will appear for two nights of stand-up in the town.

The first night has sold out, but tickets for the second night are available at manfordscomedyclub.com.