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 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

1952	New Hippodrome, Hales Street
Date(s)	Show	Notes	Images
Tue 18th Mar until Sat 5th Apr 1952	Oklahoma	"Musical Hit of the Century!"
Mon 7th Apr until Sat 19th Apr 1952	Kiss Me Kate	Starring Christopher Hewett and Elizabeth Larner.
Mon 21st Apr until Sat 26th Apr 1952	The Innocents	Starring Flora Robson.
Mon 28th Apr until Sat 10th May 1952	D'Oyly Carte Opera Company	A different Gilbert & Sullivan Opera each night.
Mon 12th May until Sat 17th May 1952	The Millionairess	Bernard Shaw play starring Katherine Hepburn.
Tue 20th May until Sat 14th Jun 1952	King's Rhapsody	Musical Romance, starring Jack Buchanan.
Mon 16th Jun until Sat 21st Jun 1952	Al Read	With the Radio Revellers, Mary Naylor and Star supporting bill.
Mon 23rd Jun until Sat 5th Jul 1952	Carousel	Starring Edmund Hockridge.
Mon 7th Jul until Sat 12th Jul 1952	The Merry Widow	With Margaret Mitchell, Peter Graves and Jerry Verne.
Mon 14th Jul until Sat 19th Jul 1952	Variety Show	With The Five Smith Brothers, Sid & Max Harrison, Billy Russell, and others.
Mon 21st Jul until Sat 26th Jul 1952	Variety Show	Featuring Josef Locke, Bill Waddington, Tommy Jover, and others.
Mon 28th Jul until Sat 2nd Aug 1952	Radio Times	Musical Cocktail, Starring Max Wall, Dick James, Beryl Reid, and others.
Mon 4th Aug until Sat 9th Aug 1952	Sugar Chile Robinson	America's Sensational Child Pianist, with Wilson, Keppel and Betty, Len Young, and others.
Mon 11th Aug until Sat 16th Aug 1952	Laurel and Hardy	With supporting Variety.
Mon 18th Aug until Sat 23rd Aug 1952	Blue For A Boy	Starring Fred Emney, Richard Hearne, and full company.
Tue 26th Aug until Sat 30th Aug 1952	Love From Judy	World Premiere of Musical Play, with Jean Carson, Bill O'Connor, Johnny Brandon and Adelaide Hall.
Mon 1st Sep until Sat 6th Sep 1952	Sally	Musical, with Eddie Childs, Jean Telfer and full company.
Mon 8th Sep until Sat 13th Sep 1952	Gay Rosalinda	Musical, with Richard Lawrence, Lisbeth Lennon, Bernard Clifton and Jimmy Godden.
Tue 16th Sep until Sat 11th Oct 1952	Rose Marie On Ice	Musical, with Valerie Moon, Sheila Hamilton and Ron Priestley.
Tue 14th Oct until Sat 1st Nov 1952	The Glorious Days	Starring Anna Neagle.
Mon 3rd Nov until Sat 8th Nov 1952	Colossal Birthday Week Show	Starring Norman Evans, Harry Secombe, Pat Kirkwood, Albert & Les Ward, and others.
Mon 10th Nov until Sat 15th Nov 1952	The Maid Of The Mountains	With Margaret Burton, Sonny Jenks, Frederick Morant, David Davenport, and company of 60 artistes.
Mon 17th Nov until Sat 22nd Nov 1952	The Desert Song	By the Coventry Amateur Operatic Society.
Mon 24th Nov until Sat 29th Nov 1952	Open The Cage	Starring Monsewer Eddie Gray and Arthur English.
Mon 1st Dec until Sat 6th Dec 1952	This Is Show Business	Revue, starring Vic Oliver.
Mon 8th Dec until Sat 13th Dec 1952	John Calvert	America's Greatest Master of Mystery. (Theatre closed the following week for pantomime rehearsals.)
Tue 23rd Dec 1952 until Sat 28th Mar 1953	Jack And The Beanstalk	Starring Norman Wisdom and Julie Andrews. Norman told the audience "You are very lucky to have such a lovely theatre in Coventry." (All records broken, with a run of 14 weeks and over 250,000 people attending.)

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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.