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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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: 1959Showing 1960Next year: 1961
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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