A VICTORIAN theatre where The Beatles once performed is among those "at risk of being lost".

The Hippodrome in Brighton is among 31 venues the Theatres Trust has named on a list of places at significant or immediate risk of being lost.

The trust, the national advisory public body for theatre, said it has seen an “emerging trend” during the pandemic where vacant theatre buildings are being put up for sale by private owners.

Brighton Hippodrome, Liverpool’s Garston Empire, Salford Victoria in Greater Manchester and Theatr Ardudwy in Harlech, Wales, which all feature on the list, were put up for sale in the second half of last year.

The Theatres Trust said it “hopes for constructive collaboration with all owners to secure a positive future for these important theatres”.

Director Jon Morgan said: “This past year has shown that communities value places where they can come together and that audiences miss live performances.

“While the theatre sector still has challenging days ahead, Theatres Trust believes that theatre will come back stronger than ever and that each building on the Theatres At Risk list has real potential to be a valuable asset to its community, to bring much-needed footfall to its town centre and spark regeneration of its area as part of the recovery post Covid.”

Work to restore the Brighton Hippodrome in Middle Street to its former glory began after it was bought by family-run company Matsim Properties last year.

The site fell into a state of disrepair in recent years and has been unused since 2007.

Restoration of the auditorium took a major step forward when the owners replaced the Grade II listed building's rotting roof with a new structure in October.

Steelwork on the original roof had rusted through and any hope of recovering it would have caused "excessive vibration and undoubtedly brought down further if not all of the decorative ceiling", Matsim said.

The intricately designed auditorium has hosted artists such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

It was built as an ice rink in 1897 and has been used as a circus and variety theatre as well as a music venue during its 123-year history.

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