Behind the scenes: Decades old prop collection at Todmorden's Hippodrome shows history of volunteer-run theatre

In the auditorium of Todmorden’s Hippodrome Theatre, a towering jumble of items occupies the space where the stalls should be.

The seating has been removed whilst hundreds of props, accumulated over decades of performances, have been taken out of storage for the volunteers to sort through and organise.

From old scripts, duvets, lampshades and fake plants, to vinyl records, typewriters and gramophones, the eclectic collection of items maps out a timeline of the theatre’s long history.

A red and gold hand-painted shield sits on top of one stack of plastic containers. It was first used at the theatre in the 1930s for a production of Camelot. Below it, one box brims with pewter tankards first used in an Oliver Twist production over 40 years ago. There is a gramophone, first used in productions in the 1950s, and handmade fake guns used in two productions of Bugsy Malone – 20 years apart – lie in another box awaiting their next venture on stage.

Elsewhere, other containers hold glimpses into the earlier days of productions at the Hippodrome.

A selection of vinyl records are stored in one box, which were once used to supply sound effects for performances before more modern methods came into use.

Entitled ‘BBC Sound Effects’, the back of the yellowed record jacket lists the vast – and very specific – array of options available, which would apparently suit the needs of any theatre production imaginable. Amongst many others, options include 15 seconds of cockerel sounds, 24 seconds of chicken sounds, a Bull Mastiff barking, and a Gordon Setter howling.

Also included is 25 seconds of an English Electric Vulcan 2000 B.H.P train ‘passing at speed’, or one minute and 15 seconds of Oxford’s Merton College clock chimes.

The props have been collected over many years of performances, which date back to 1908.

In more recent years, volunteers have been working to ensure this history is preserved and documented with a dedicated archive.

Deborah Barker, a retired nurse practitioner, became the theatre’s Volunteer Lead Archivist in 2020.

The archive holds countless items and documents which provide an unbroken record of the theatre’s history.

It includes theatre plans dating from 1908, deeds, letters, minutes, printing blocks, newspaper cuttings, and old programmes. It holds photographs from 1908 to the present day, including posters and photographs which document the operatic society’s Gilbert and Sullivan productions from 1917 to 1926.

She said: “It’s really nice, because you just never know what you might find.

"You might find a programme and you open it up and everyone’s signed it or you might find some tickets in there.

“There aren’t many theatres that can document what we have with the heritage that we’ve got from the whole of the town, dating back from 1908 right up to present day.”

The Hippodrome is the UK’s largest volunteer-run theatre, and has around 300 members. The theatre estimates that in one year volunteers contribute around 72,000 hours to it, and this deep connection it has with the Todmorden community spans generations.

Although Deborah took on her current role in recent years, she began visiting the theatre to attend her father’s rehearsals in the 1960s. Her grandfather had been involved from the 1920s, and his signature is recorded on the lease to the theatre.

Helen Clarkson met her husband, Steve, at the theatre in 1993 whilst he was working as a stage manager and she was musical director.

They are both still heavily involved in the Hippodrome, with Helen now the Todmorden Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society’s (TAODS) chair and Steve the project and development officer overseeing the theatre’s Raise the Roof project. Their children also attended the theatre’s youth group.

Helen started as the theatre’s rehearsal pianist at 16 years old, and maintained her involvement throughout her career as a teacher and headteacher.

She missed only one show in 40 years to give birth to her daughter.

She said: “When I was pregnant with my son we moved the dates [of the show] so I could still direct it before I gave birth.

“I think I was 30 weeks pregnant when I did that one.”

She spoke about the benefits of volunteering at the theatre whilst working as a teacher: “Once you’re here, you forget about other things.

"It’s really good from a mental health point of view.”

“It’s just a release valve. You don’t need to think about what’s going on at work.

“And it would force me to be very good at time management at work so that I did have the freedom to come down and do this, so I was very organised as a teacher and as a head,” she added.

The theatre’s Raise the Roof project is due to start in May and is expected to finish by March 2026. The building will remain open during the construction. More information about the project can be found on the Hippodrome’s website.