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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1945 | New Hippodrome, Hales Street | ||
| Date(s) | Show | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 12th Feb until Sat 24th Feb 1945 | The Royal Carl Rosa Opera Company | A different Opera each night. | |
| Mon 26th Feb until Sat 3rd Mar 1945 | The Love Racket | Starring Arthur Askey. | |
| Tue 6th Mar until Sat 10th Mar 1945 | Peter Pan | Starring Nova Pilbeam and Walter Fitzgerald. | |
| Mon 12th Mar until Sat 17th Mar 1945 | Desert Rats | Starring Richard Greene. | |
| Mon 19th Mar until Sat 31st Mar 1945 | Harry Benet's Royal Majestic Circus | Direct from its eight week record breaking success at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow. | |
| Mon 2nd Apr until Sat 7th Apr 1945 | Billy Cotton and his Band | All-Star Variety Show. | |
| Mon 9th Apr until Sat 14th Apr 1945 | D'Oyly Carte Opera Company | A different Opera each night. | |
| Mon 16th Apr until Sat 21st Apr 1945 | The Skin Of Our Teeth | Starring Vivien Leigh, with Cecil Parker and Ena Burrill. | |
| Mon 23rd Apr until Thu 26th Apr 1945 | The Frog | Edgar Wallace Play, featuring Gordon Harker, Franklin Dyall and Reginald Tate. | |
| Fri 27th Apr and Sat 28th Apr 1945 | The Ringer | Edgar Wallace Play, featuring Gordon Harker, Franklin Dyall and Reginald Tate. | |
| Tue 1st May until Sat 5th May 1945 | Miss Hook of Holland | An Emile Littler Coventry Premier, with Leni Lynn, Billy Danvers, Les Allen and George Carney. | |
| Mon 7th May until Sat 12th May 1945 | Betty | Musical Comedy, with Freddie Forbes, Jean Inglis, Bertram Wallis, Reginald Palmer, and others. | |
| Mon 14th May until Sat 19th May 1945 | The First Gentleman | With Robert Morley and Wendy Hiller. | |
| Mon 21st May until Sat 26th May 1945 | The Maid Of The Mountains | With Sylvia Cecil, Percy Marmont, Davy Burnaby, Billy Tasker, and Company of 50 artistes. | |
| Mon 28th May until Sat 2nd Jun 1945 | International Ballet | With Mona Inglesby, Rovi Pavinoff, Algeranoff and Leslie French. | |
| Mon 4th Jun until Sat 9th Jun 1945 | Sweet Yesterday | With Webster Booth and Anne Ziegler. | |
| Mon 11th Jun until Sat 16th Jun 1945 | Arsenic and Old Lace | With Janet Barrow, Nellie Bowman, Meinhart Maur and Franklin Davies. | |
| Mon 18th Jun until Sat 23rd Jun 1945 | The Desert Song | With Wilfred Gartrell, Gwyneth Lascellel and Leonard Henry. | |
| Mon 25th Jun until Sat 30th Jun 1945 | Big Boy | Musical Comedy, with Fred Emney, Richard Hearne and Carol Raye. | |
| Mon 2nd Jul until Sat 7th Jul 1945 | We'll Be Seeing You | With Hutch, Nat Jackley, Ted Ray, Marianne Lincoln, Spence & Davies, Alan Kay & Partner, and others. | |
| Mon 9th Jul until Sat 14th Jul 1945 | Victory Variety | With Florence Desmond, Billy Russell, The Mastersingers, and others. | |
| Mon 16th Jul until Sat 21st Jul 1945 | Victory Variety | Starring Vera Lynn, Jackie Hunter, Wilson, Keppel & Betty, and others. | |
| Mon 23rd Jul until Sat 28th Jul 1945 | Geraldo and His Orchestra | With The Dolinoffs & Raya Sisters, Arthur Brough, Archie Glen, and others. | |
| Mon 30th Jul until Sat 4th Aug 1945 | Variety Show | With Elsie & Doris Waters (Gert & Daisy), Harry Mooney & Victor King, Tommy Jover, and others. | |
| Mon 6th Aug until Sat 11th Aug 1945 | Frolics | Musical, with Nat Mills & Bobbie, Phyllis Robins, Sid Plummer, the Chevalier Brothers, and others. | |
| Mon 13th Aug until Sat 18th Aug 1945 | Variety Show | Starring Rawicz & Landauer, Turner & Layton, Stanelli, and others. | |
| Tue 21st Aug until Sat 25th Aug 1945 | Panama Hattie | Musical Comedy, with Jean Adrienne, Eddie Leslie, Fred Kitcher, and others. | |
| Mon 27th Aug until Sat 8th Sep 1945 | The Lisbon Story | Musical Romance, with a Cast of 70 and Full Corps de Ballet. | |
| Mon 10th Sep until Sat 15th Sep 1945 | The Quaker Girl | With Celia Lipton, Billy Milton, Hal Bryan, Jack Mayer, and others. | |
| Mon 17th Sep until Sat 22nd Sep 1945 | The Merry Widow | With Leo Franklin, Elizabeth French, Frank Fox, Anna Claire, and others. | |
| Mon 24th Sep until Sat 29th Sep 1945 | Quiet Week-End | With Evelyn Roberts, Stuart Lindsell and Barbara Leake. | |
| Mon 1st Oct until Sat 6th Oct 1945 | Grand All-Star Variety | With Issy Bonn, Renee Houston & Donald Stewart, Max & Harry Nesbitt, and others. | |
| Mon 8th Oct until Sat 13th Oct 1945 | Sweeter and Lower | Musical, with Phyllis Monkman and George Lacy. | |
| Mon 15th Oct until Sat 20th Oct 1945 | Melody of Love (The Gipsy Baron) | With Hella Toros, Edward Reach, Constance Stocker, Hugh Rene, and others. | |
| Mon 22nd Oct until Sat 27th Oct 1945 | No, No, Nanette! | With Jean Colin, George Clarke, Roy Royston and Betty Frankiss. | |
| Mon 29th Oct until Sat 3rd Nov 1945 | Birthday Celebration - Victory Frolics | With Jessie Matthews, Nat Mills & Bobbie, G. H. Elliott, and others. | |
| Sun 4th Nov 1945 | Arthur Askey & Tommy Handley | Plus a host of stars in a Grand Victory Matinee. | |
| Mon 5th Nov until Sat 10th Nov 1945 | Variety Show | With Cyril Fletcher, Hermione Baddeley, Noni & Nita, Jack Stanford, and others. | |
| Mon 12th Nov until Sat 17th Nov 1945 | Dandy Dick | Starring Sydney Howard. | |
| Mon 19th Nov until Sat 24th Nov 1945 | The Arcadians | By The Coventry Operatic Society. | |
| Tue 27th Nov until Sat 1st Dec 1945 | Song of Norway | European Premiere of Emile Littler's presentation of the Life and Music of Edvard Grieg. | |
| Mon 3rd Dec until Sat 8th Dec 1945 | Donald Wolfit and his famous Shakespearean Company | With Rosalind Iden, performing King Lear, Cymbeline, Twelfth Night and The Merry Wives of Windsor. | |
| Mon 10th Dec until Sat 15th Dec 1945 | Henry Hall and his Orchestra | All-Star Variety. (Theatre closed from the 17th to the 21st for rehearsals.) | |
| Sat 22nd Dec 1945 until Sat 16th Feb 1946 | Cinderella | With Billy Tasker, Helga Stone, Clifford & Wrigley, and a Company of 60. | |
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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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