Address: Parkgate, Darlington, DL1 1RR, United Kingdom
Phone: +441325405405
Rating: 4.7
based on 235 reviews.
Theatre Experience
Pros:
"The theatre itself is stunning, with its beautiful architecture and cozy seating."
"I thought the dancers, singers, and Flavia and Vincent were brilliant."
"Went to see Jersey Nights it was a brilliant performance they all worked so hard and you could tell they all enjoyed entertaining us all."
"Recently refurbished sympathetically. Old and new parts flow seamlessly."
"The whole event was excellent. The refurbished Hippodrome is superbly completed with much better seats."
"The new seats are comfortable and give plenty of arm and shoulder room with good space for the legs."
"A fabulous theatre the architecture inside is amazing."
Cons:
"Seats have more room but with no centre aisle in stalls could see it being a safety hazard."
"The only problem with the new theatre are the seats are very uncomfortable and nothing like the old sprung ones so bring a cushion with you."
"The seats are badly staggered so having to lean to side to get to gap between people in front."
"Unfortunately if you’re sat behind someone tall it does restrict the view as the seats are close together so there isn’t a great deal of room to try and see around them."
"The seats downstairs are uncomfortable and there is no centre aisle."
"When we booked, the only spaces left had what was described as restricted view, should have been advertised as hardly any view, really ruined the show to be really honest."
"The old theatre had character which has perhaps been lost in the revamp."
Customer Service
Pros:
"Thank you so much to the lady in the ticket booking office who showed so much compassion when I called to cancel some tickets as a result of my partner passing away."
"First time of contacting Box Office and had a Tim Hollinshead deal with my call. What a lovely friendly person."
"The staff is always friendly and helpful, making sure you have the best experience possible."
"All the staff were extremely helpful and friendly."
"The staff are all very pleasant and helpful."
"The staff were very friendly in helping us find our seats."
"Staff are very friendly and helpful and plenty of toilet facilities on site."
Cons:
"The staff could have done more to stop this. Some people walked out because of it."
"The staff were excellent but not really geared up to cope with a large influx of patrons."
"Not enough staff on hand to assist with disabled visitors."
"The staff behaviour and the male staff member mentioned earlier basically ruined what would have been a good night."
"Probably could do with more bar staff on, 2nd night the pre ordered drinks weren't ready at the interval so i ended up queueing and rushing my drink anyway."
"We were 'told off' three times by the ushers as we were too loud; enjoying ourselves."
"The only issue I found was, I'd pre-ordered and paid for some drinks at the interval, when I went to collect my drinks they were on a table, not guarded by staff, and some were missing."
Value for Money
Pros:
"Prices weren't sky high, too."
"Got a cheap end seat too, probably the best £14.50 I've spent this millennium."
"There is a St Cuthbert's 24 hour car park nearby for £3 per day, which is very convenient too."
"Parking was easy & Hippodrome cafe clean for pre show drinks & snacks."
"Prices are reasonable. A tub of ice cream as at November 2018 was £3."
"The drinks are reasonably priced."
"Free parking in car park opposite after 6pm which was very handy."
Cons:
"Tickets are pricey especially as they include a £2 levy for the refurbishment."
"The show was not worth £35 a ticket when last Friday I saw Scouting for Girls at York Barbican for only £33 a ticket."
"Went to the hippodrome to see the hormonal the musical the show itself was absolutely brilliant can't fault it but the only down side is the cost of refreshments are way overpriced."
"After spending close to £250 on tickets we were asked if we would like to buy insurance on our tickets... I feel conned by the hippodrome."
"The reason I've given 3 stars is the cost of the tickets - children's tickets were the same price as the adults, about £28 each which for a council run theatre is excessive."
"Although the restoration have made positive improvements they have done away with the original front entrance, a historical feature I thought they would keep."
"Consumption of alcohol in auditorium cheapens the theatrical ambience but I know that profit outweighs professionalism."