More than 60 staff at the iconic Birmingham theatre have been told they're facing redundancy in abid to save the venue.

The impact of the COVID-19 crisis has been devastating for arts venues and Hippodrome bosses are facing the reality that the Hurts Street theatre will be unable to reopen until social distancing measures are relaxed.

Almost all of the Hippodrome's revenue is received from ticket sales - an income stream they've been without since they closed their doors in March, putting the future of the theatre is in jeopardy. Chief Executive and Artistic Director, Fiona Allan, said:

"We have had to accept that our immediate future has changed, and our financial situation will be in jeopardy for some time to come. When it comes time to reopen Birmingham Hippodrome, it will need to be a different organisation than when we closed.

"This has led to the very difficult and heart-breaking conclusion that we need to scale back areas of the business and significantly reduce our team size.

"It is with great sadness to confirm that Birmingham Hippodrome has entered a period of redundancy consultations as a direct result of prolonged business closure due to the COVID-19 Global Crisis."

Changes to the Furlough scheme, announced by the Chancellor last week, are suitable for the broader economy but not fit for purpose for the theatre industry. With the closure of the job retention scheme on 31st October, and no current guidance of when they will we be able to reopen, the theatre doesn't have the reserves to sustain prolonged closure. Ms Allan added:

"Our Birmingham Hippodrome team are loyal, talented and dedicated and I want to thank them for their support and resilience at this time of crisis. I have personally been overwhelmed by the graciousness and kindness they have shown each other and the Hippodrome."

Birmingham Hippodrome first opened in 1895 and is the busiest single theatre in the United Kingdom, regularly pulling in crowds of over 600,000 every year. 

Those staff who are affected have been contacted and no final decision for redundancies we will be made until the consultation process has been completed.