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 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
1949 | New Hippodrome, Hales Street | ||
| Date(s) | Show | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 21st Mar until Sat 26th Mar 1949 | D'Oyly Carte Opera Company | A different Gilbert & Sullivan Opera each night. | |
| Tue 29th Mar until Sat 23rd Apr 1949 | Stars On Ice | With Adele Inge, Valerie Moon, Marilyn Telfer, and others. | |
| Mon 25th Apr until Sat 30th Apr 1949 | The Chocolate Soldier | Romantic Musical with Fred Emney, Olga Gwynne, Roy Royston, Gene Marien, and others. | |
| Mon 2nd May until Sat 7th May 1949 | Private Lives | by Noel Coward, with Margaret Lockwood & Peter Graves. | |
| Mon 9th May until Sat 21st May 1949 | Glamorous Night | By Ivor Novello, with Sylvia Cecil, Barry Mackay and others. | |
| Mon 23rd May until Sat 28th May 1949 | International Ballet | A different ballet each night. | |
| Mon 30th May until Sat 4th Jun 1949 | Worm's Eye View | Comedy, with Jack Stock and O'Donovan Shiell. | |
| Mon 6th Jun until Sat 11th Jun 1949 | Her Excellency | With Cecele Courtneidge. | |
| Mon 13th Jun until Sat 18th Jun 1949 | Sky High | With Jimmy Edwards, Freddie Frinton and Joyce Golding. | |
| Mon 20th Jun until Sat 2nd Jul 1949 | Folies Bergere Revue | With Francoise Flore, Raymond Girerd, Vivian et Tassi, Jacki Hunter, and others. | |
| Mon 4th Jul until Sat 9th Jul 1949 | Bob's Your Uncle | With Leslie Henson and Vera Pierce. | |
| Mon 11th Jul until Sat 23rd Jul 1949 | Sadler's Wells Opera Company | A different Opera each night. | |
| Mon 25th Jul until Sat 30th Jul 1949 | The Chiltern Hundreds | With Marjorie Fielding, A. E. Matthews and George Curzon. | |
| Mon 1st Aug until Sat 6th Aug 1949 | Hold Your Breath | Aqua Revuette, with Lieut. Landon Richardson's Frogmen. | |
| Mon 8th Aug until Sat 13th Aug 1949 | Piccadilly Hayride | With Nat Jackley, The Costello Twins, and others. | |
| Mon 15th Aug until Sat 20th Aug 1949 | Thanks For The Memory | With G. H. Elliott, Gertie Gitana, Ella Shields, and others. | |
| Mon 22nd Aug until Sat 3rd Sep 1949 | Waltzes from Vienna | The music of Johann Strauss. | |
| Mon 5th Sep until Sat 10th Sep 1949 | From The French | Comedy, with Harold Warrender, Derek Bond and Eleanor Summerfield. | |
| Mon 12th Sep until Sat 17th Sep 1949 | Waltz Time | Musical Romance. | |
| Tue 20th Sep until Sat 24th Sep 1949 | Castle In The Air | World Premiere, with Jack Buchanan. | |
| Mon 26th Sep until Sat 1st Oct 1949 | The Happiest Days Of Your Life | Farce, with Joyce Barbour, George Howe, Colin Gordon, and others. | |
| Mon 3rd Oct until Sat 8th Oct 1949 | Song of Norway | Musical based on the life of Edvard Grieg. | |
| Mon 10th Oct until Sat 22nd Oct 1949 | Perchance To Dream | Romantic Musical, with Ruthene Leclerc, Hilary de Chaville, and others. | |
| Mon 24th Oct until Sat 29th Oct 1949 | Colossal Birthday Week Show | Variety, with Allan Jones, Reg Dixon, and others. | |
| Mon 31st Oct until Sat 12th Nov 1949 | Bitter Sweet | By Noel Coward, featuring Eve Lister, Betty Paul and large company. | |
| Mon 14th Nov until Sat 19th Nov 1949 | The New Moon | By the Coventry Amateur Operatic Society. | |
| Mon 21st Nov until Sat 26th Nov 1949 | Gaslight | Thriller, with Dennis Price and Rosamund John. | |
| Mon 28th Nov until Sat 3rd Dec 1949 | Variety Show | With the Five Smith Brothers, Florence Desmond, and others. | |
| Mon 5th Dec until Sat 17th Dec 1949 | Bless The Bride | Musical, with Edmund Goffron, Valerie Lawson, and others. (Theatre closed next week for Pantomime rehearsals.) | |
| Sat 24th Dec 1949 until Sat 18th Mar 1950 | Cinderella | All-Star cast including Clarkson Rose and George Moon, Beryl Stevens, Ford & Sheen, Three Jokers, The Pierrotys, The Andrea Dancers, The Pauline Grant Corps de Ballet, The Betty Fox Babes, Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt Drake's Ponies, and a host of other Stars. | |
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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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