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.
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1911 | Old Hippodrome, Hales Street | ||
| Date(s) | Show | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2nd Jan until Sat 7th Jan 1911 | The Football Match | Fred Karno's comedy play. Plus, Torti, Gus Fowler, Herbert Terry, Ted Waite, and others. | |
| Mon 9th Jan until Sat 14th Jan 1911 | Alexandre & Hughes | Musical comedians. Plus, O'Malley and Brown, Bert Errol, the Three Bros. Huxter, and many more. | |
| Mon 16th Jan until Sat 21st Jan 1911 | Mdlle. Irma Lorraine | World renowned beauty and poseuse. Plus, Russell Carr, Phoebe Mercer, Ferguson and Mack, and others. | |
| Mon 23rd Jan until Sat 28th Jan 1911 | Dr. Wilmar's Spirit Paintings | The riddle of the century. Plus, Horace Hunter & Co., La Belle Nello, Ben Albert, the Famous Leslie Brothers, and more. | |
| Mon 30th Jan until Sat 4th Feb 1911 | Sam Lowenwirth and Charles Cohan | Original Hebrew comedians. Plus, The Royal Banzai Family, Horace White, Chinko, Miss Minnie Kaufmann, and others. | |
| Mon 6th Feb until Sat 11th Feb 1911 | Long Live the King | Starring Frank Elliston & Co. Plus, Herbert Lloyd, The Avolas, Ted Curtis & Co., Fred Poplar, and more. | |
| Mon 13th Feb until Sat 18th Feb 1911 | A Very Modern Othello | Starring Courtice Pounds. Plus, Griffiths & Carmen, the Spanish Goldini Troupe, D'Arc's Marionettes, and others. | |
| Mon 20th Feb until Sat 25th Feb 1911 | Billy Merson | Comedian. Plus, Phantom scena 'The Burglar's Dream', the O'Gorman Brothers, Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Lucas, and more. | |
| Mon 27th Feb until Sat 4th Mar 1911 | Mumming Birds | Fred Karno's company, the greatest of all burlesques. Plus, Phil Percival, comedy 'The Top-Side Dog', and more. | |
| Mon 6th Mar until Sat 11th Mar 1911 | Change or The Haunted Castle | Comedy-drama. Plus, Wallace Whitney, The Newmans, Devon and Earle, and much more. | |
| Mon 13th Mar until Sat 18th Mar 1911 | Mark Sheridan | Singer. Plus, Sydney Brandon, the Oakes Duo, Luis Hardt, The Courtiers, and more. | |
| Mon 20th Mar until Sat 25th Mar 1911 | First of April | Comedy with Tom Foy and Company. Plus, Jack Pleasants, Jessie Merrilees, Zaleski, the Monti Brothers, and others. | |
| Mon 27th Mar until Sat 1st Apr 1911 | Lord Harkaway | A sporting romance form Fred Maxwell. Plus, The Four Ascots, Julian Mack, Harry Atkinson, and more. | |
| Mon 3rd Apr until Sat 8th Apr 1911 | Austin Rudd | Favourite comedian. Plus, the Brothers Gilbert, Harry Bedford, Mooney and Holbein, Olly Oakley, and others. | |
| Mon 10th Apr until Sat 15th Apr 1911 | The Prince of Monte Carlo | With Harry Roxbury. Plus, Matthews and Haming, the Whittington Trio, Haley's Garden of Girls, and others. | |
| Mon 17th Apr until Sat 22nd Apr 1911 | An Airship under Wireless Control | Flown and manoeuvred in the auditorium. Plus, Dora Lyric, Dick Tubb, The Hungaria Trio, and more. | |
| Mon 24th Apr until Sat 29th Apr 1911 | Ella Retford | Comedienne and dancer. Plus absurdity 'The Burglars of New York', Clark and Mostol,Fred Barnes, and more. | |
| Mon 1st May until Sat 6th May 1911 | HMS Pinafore | GIlbert & Sullivan opera by the Coventry Amatuer Operatic Society, plus orchestra. | |
| Mon 8th May until Sat 13th May 1911 | In The Tube | Scene by Violet Black and Co. Plus, Clown Zertho's Dogs, The Four Panamas, the Royal Merry Four, and others. | |
| Mon 15th May until Sat 20th May 1911 | Dutch Daly | Concertina soloist and dialogue artiste. Plus, The Great Werner Amoros Troupe, Keir and Kempton, and others. | |
| Mon 22nd May until Sat 27th May 1911 | The Seven Bramusas | British family of juvenile musicians. Plus, Syd Walker, the Sylvester Trio, Ed E. Ford, and more. | |
| Mon 29th May until Sat 3rd Jun 1911 | Cinquevalli | The incomparable juggler. Plus, Lillian the beautiful cyclist, Harry Levaine, W. H. Kuming, and more. | |
| Mon 5th Jun until Sat 10th Jun 1911 | George Formby | First appearance in Coventry. Plus, Stewart and Morgan, Jack Stephens, the Pasquali Bros., and more. (This is George Formby senior, father of the later, more famous George Formby.) | |
| Mon 12th Jun until Sat 17th Jun 1911 | Her Luck in London | Drama with Miss Mary Neil and company. Plus, Jack Holland, George Newburn, Alix Lukos, and others. | |
| Mon 19th Jun until Sat 24th Jun 1911 | Zona Vevey | America's idol, with Max Erard and his piano. Plus, George Rapley, the Sisters Geretti, and many more. | |
| Mon 26th Jun until Sat 1st Jul 1911 | Private Potts | Comedy with Jack WIlliams and London company. Plus, Mdlle. De Rose, The Kasracs, and others. | |
| Mon 3rd Jul until Sat 8th Jul 1911 | Van Biene's Dilemma | Starring actor-musician Van Biene. Plus, the Hannaway Bros., the Lyons Trio, Daisy Morrell, and more. | |
| Mon 10th Jul until Sat 15th Jul 1911 | Maria Lo's Dresden China | Beautiful living tableaux art in porcelain. Plus, the Four Holloways, Lilie Leslie, and others. | |
| Mon 17th Jul until Sat 22nd Jul 1911 | The Fool of The Force | Starring George Carney as Officer Mudd. Plus, Bessie Butt, Billy French, David Poole, and others. | |
| Mon 24th Jul until Sat 29th Jul 1911 | Hayman and Franklin | American Hebrew impersonators in 'Cohen's Mistake'. Plus, The Wedburns, the Kremka Brothers, and others. | |
| Mon 31st Jul until Sat 5th Aug 1911 | The Bailiff | Fred Karno's comedy with Albert Bruno. Plus, Josh Dixon, The Three Delaries, and more. | |
| Mon 7th Aug until Sat 12th Aug 1911 | Papa's Day Off | Comedy with George Ali. Plus, The Dorinos, Ted Karno and Co., Ernie Mayne, Jennie Johns, and more. | |
| Mon 14th Aug until Sat 19th Aug 1911 | The Grecian Temple of Mystery | With Signor Arvi. Plus, Diamond and Beatrice, the Keeley Brothers, Crystal and Saville, and more. | |
| Mon 21st Aug until Sat 26th Aug 1911 | Albert Whelan | Australian entertainer. Plus, Bert Coote, the 4 Rio Brothers, Wood Wells and Wilkins, Albert Le Fre, and more. | |
| Mon 28th Aug until Sat 2nd Sep 1911 | Nellie Wallace | Plus, Jack Warman, Lavail and Bodine, Haley's Prize Juveniles, and others. | |
| Mon 4th Sep until Sat 9th Sep 1911 | Chas. R. Whittle | Comedian. Plus, Johnson Clark, Kirk and Saraski, The Kirbys, and more. | |
| Mon 11th Sep until Sat 16th Sep 1911 | May Moore Duprez | The Jolly Little Dutch Girl. Plus, Lupino Lane, Brothers O'Brien, Shirley and Ransome, and others. | |
| Mon 18th Sep until Sat 23rd Sep 1911 | The Fighting Parson | Play with George Gray. Plus, the 10 Dixie Girls, Sammy Shields, the Three Bilfords, and more. | |
| Mon 25th Sep until Sat 30th Sep 1911 | Billy | Comedy sketch with the Famous Craggs. Plus, SIgnor and Madame Borelli, Ross and Lewis, and others. | |
| Mon 2nd Oct until Sat 7th Oct 1911 | Miss Viola Hamilton | Soprano comedienne and beauty queen - Lady Godiva in the 1911 pageant. Plus, Little Zola, the Warsaw Brothers, and more. | |
| Mon 9th Oct until Sat 14th Oct 1911 | HMS Perhaps | Comedy sketch with the original Six Bros. Luck. Plus, Dave Carter, the Three Sisters Macarte, Jack Lane, and more. | |
| Mon 16th Oct until Sat 21st Oct 1911 | J. W. Rickaby | Eccentric comedian. Plus, The Jackson Troupe, Arthur Astill, My Fancy, and others. | |
| Mon 23rd Oct until Sat 28th Oct 1911 | Maidie Scott | 'Just a comedienne'. Plus, Dion Wade, the Paxton Trio, Friend and Downing, the Jackson Family, and others. | |
| Mon 30th Oct until Sat 4th Nov 1911 | Miss Margaret Cooper | With her piano. Plus, Young and Evans, J. W. Darley & Co., the Four Vagabonds, and others. | |
| Mon 6th Nov until Sat 11th Nov 1911 | Harry Ford | Plus, Christy and Wallis, The Bale Troupe, Colley and Scott, an episode of 'The Cattle Thief', and more. | |
| Mon 13th Nov until Sat 18th Nov 1911 | Dan Crawley | Lively songs and patter. Plus, the Ko Ten Ichi Troupe, Little Ganty, Miss Clarice Howard, and more. | |
| Mon 20th Nov until Sat 25th Nov 1911 | Donald and Carson | Scottish comedian and his bonnie lassie. Plus, Beatie and Babs, Mabel Sinclair, Griffin and Ardell, and others. | |
| Mon 27th Nov until Sat 2nd Dec 1911 | John Lawson | Starring in 'The Monkey's Paw' and 'The Open Door'. Plus, Billy Brown, The Kiorys, George D'Albert, and more. | |
| Mon 4th Dec until Sat 9th Dec 1911 | G. H. Elliott | The original and only chocolate coloured c**n. Plus, Ernest Shand, Ralph & Nellie Howard, The Arthur Lloyd Trio, and more. | |
| Mon 11th Dec until Sat 16th Dec 1911 | Harry Weldon | 'Stiffy the Goalkeeper' and other characterisations. Plus, comedy 'Miss Clever Dick', Horace White, Renee Graham, and more. | |
| Mon 18th Dec until Sat 23rd Dec 1911 | Mr. Justice Perkins | Fred Karno comedy. Plus, Richard Finberg, S. W. Wyndham, Cromwell, Edie Veno, and others. | |
| Tue 26th Dec until Sat 30th Dec 1911 | De Bierre The Mysterious | Illusionist. Plus, Paulton and Doley, Fred Keeton, Cooper and Lait, and others. | |
Prev year: 1910Showing 1911Next year: 1912
1884 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 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.
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