Hippodrome / Coventry Theatre / Apollo show archive

n attempt to list all the shows ever performed at our Hippodromes, beginning with the temporary circus buildings, which from 1884 were specially erected on Pool Meadow for each visit - then, in 1903, to the first permanent, but short-lived, 'Tin' Hippodrome on the Priory Street side of Pool Meadow facing the old Swimming Baths. The popularity of these shows created the demand for a theatre worthy of our city, and so in 1906 began the construction in Hales Street, next to Swanswell Gate, of what we now regard as the Old Hippodrome.
Again, the success of this theatre meant that barely three decades later a greater capacity was required, and so we come to our lovely art-deco New Hippodrome in Hales Street, once known as the Showplace of the Midlands. Opening on the 1st November 1937, it was renamed Coventry Theatre in 1955, then from 1979 became The Apollo, giving its final performance in June 1985. After a short spell as a bingo hall it was eventually realised that such a building could not be put to any practical use, so, sadly, it was demolished in 2002. If anyone still has any tickets or programmes and would like to see them used to illustrate a show, please contact me.

1884 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985

1960	Coventry Theatre, Hales Street
Date(s)	Show	Notes	Images
Sun 3rd Jan 1960	Humphrey Lyttleton and his Band	One night only.
Sun 10th Jan 1960	Ted Heath and his Music	One night only.
Sun 17th Jan 1960	Chris Barber's Jazz Band	One night only.
Sun 24th Jan 1960	Sid Phillips Band Show	One night only.
Mon 14th Mar until Sat 19th Mar 1960	Ralph Reader's Gang Show	Starring Ralph Reader himself, plus a cast of 60.
Mon 21st Mar until Sat 26th Mar 1960	Salad Days	Music by Julian Slade - British musical with the longest run in history.
Mon 28th Mar until Sat 2nd Apr 1960	The Vagabond King	Starring John Hanson.
Tue 5th Apr until Sat 9th Apr 1960	Peter Pan	With Julia Lockwood and Keith Wordsworth.
Mon 11th Apr until Sat 16th Apr 1960	Cliff Richard and The Shadows	Plus Norman Vaughan, Alan Field, Jimmy Lloyd, Pierre Bel.
Mon 18th Apr until Sat 28th May 1960	Spring Show	Starring Shirley Bassey, Ken Dodd, The Three Monarchs, Freddie Sales, and many others.
Mon 30th May until Sat 4th Jun 1960	Lilac Time	Schubert's Opera, with Tano Ferendinos, and a Great Star Cast.
Mon 6th Jun until Sat 11th Jun 1960	The Belle of New York	With Clifford Mollison and Susan Swinford.
Sun 12th Jun 1960	Mr. Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band	One night only.
Mon 13th Jun until Sat 18th Jun 1960	The Unexpected Guest	Agatha Christie play, direct from the Duchess Theatre, London.
Mon 20th Jun until Sat 25th Jun 1960	The Boy Friend	With Anthony Hayes and Roberta Huby.
Tue 28th Jun until Sat 9th Jul 1960	Joie De Vivre	Comedy, with Donald Sinden and Joan Heal.
Mon 11th Jul until Sat 16th Jul 1960	The Hostage	Comedy, by Brendan Behan.
Mon 18th Jul until Sat 23rd Jul 1960	The Complaisant Lover	Comedy, with Mary Kerridge and Hugh Sinclair.
Mon 25th Jul until Sat 30th Jul 1960	Roar Like A Dove	Comedy, starring Barry Sinclair.
Mon 1st Aug until Sat 6th Aug 1960	Here Is The News	New Revue, starring Cleo Laine, Valentine Dyall, Sheila Hancock and Richard Goolden.
Mon 8th Aug until Sat 13th Aug 1960	Make Me An Offer	Musical, direct from the New Theatre, London. (Theatre closed next week for redecoration of the auditorium ceiling.)
Mon 22nd Aug until Sat 27th Aug 1960	No, No, Nanette!	Musical, with Tommy fields and Billy Milton.
Tue 30th Aug until Sat 10th Sep 1960	The World of Suzie Wong	With Juliet Yuen, Derek Waring, Roy Purcell and Ann Saker.
Mon 12th Sep until Sat 17th Sep 1960	Sadler's Wells Opera Company	Different Opera each night.
Mon 19th Sep until Sat 24th Sep 1960	The More The Merrier	Starring Anna Neagle.
Mon 26th Sep until Sat 1st Oct 1960	The Third Coventry Festival of Music	Great orchestras, including the London Philharmonic.
Mon 3rd Oct until Sat 8th Oct 1960	Salad Days	Britain's longest running musical.
Mon 10th Oct until Sat 15th Oct 1960	D'Oyly Carte Opera Company	A different Gilbert & Sullivan Opera each night.
Mon 17th Oct until Sat 3rd Dec 1960	1960 Birthday Show	Starring Arthur Askey, Roy Castle, Yana, Morecambe & Wise, and other stars.
Mon 5th Dec until Sat 10th Dec 1960	Naughty Marietta	By the Coventry Amateur Operatic Society. (Theatre closed next week for Pantomime rehearsals.)
Mon 19th Dec 1960 until Sat 11th Mar 1961	The Pied Piper	Starring Beryl Reid and Ken Dodd, with star-studded cast of 70. (Ran for 12 weeks, seen by over 206,000 people.)

Prev year: 1959   Next year: 1961

1884 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985

Also of interest might be A short history of Coventry's Theatres and Cinemas, by Bill Birch.