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

1953	New Hippodrome, Hales Street
Date(s)	Show	Notes	Images
Sun 22nd Feb 1953	Harry Roy and his Band	One night only.
Mon 30th Mar until Sat 11th Apr 1953	Zip Goes A Million	Starring Reg Dixon.
Mon 13th Apr until Sat 18th Apr 1953	The Gay Dog	Starring Wilfred Pickles.
Sun 19th Apr 1953	London Philharmonic Orchestra	Conducted by Sir Adrian Boult, performing Beethoven's Fifth symphony.
Mon 20th Apr until Sat 25th Apr 1953	And So To Bed	Musical, featuring Leslie Henson, Webster Booth and Anne Ziegler.
Mon 27th Apr until Sat 2nd May 1953	Over The Moon	Featuring Cicely Courtneidge.
Mon 4th May until Sat 9th May 1953	Relative Values	Noel Coward's play, starring Gladys Cooper.
Mon 11th May until Sat 16th May 1953	No, No, Nanette!	With George Lacy and George Moon.
Mon 18th May until Sat 23rd May 1953	Mr. Pastry Comes To Town	Starring Richard Hearne as Mr. Pastry, with The Tanner Sisters, George Martin, and others.
Mon 25th May until Sat 30th May 1953	All-Star Comedy Show	With Nat Mills & Bobbie, Hutch, Harry Locke, and others.
Mon 1st Jun until Sat 6th Jun 1953	Wild Horses	Farcical Comedy with Roberson Hare and Ralph Lynn.
Mon 8th Jun until Sat 13th Jun 1953	International Ballet	Swan Lake and other ballets each night.
Mon 15th Jun until Sat 4th Jul 1953	Call Me Madam	Starring Noele Gordon and Frank Leighton.
Mon 6th Jul until Sat 11th Jul 1953	Billy Cotton and his Band	With Alan Breeze, Doreen Stephens, Clem Bernard, and others.
Mon 13th Jul until Sat 18th Jul 1953	Cheerful Charlie Chester	With Jack Jackson, Dorothy Carless, and others.
Sat 18th Jul until Thu 23rd Jul 1953	Dance Recital	By the Orme School of Dancing, including June Arnold's pupils.
Mon 20th Jul until Sat 25th Jul 1953	Billy Daniels	"America's Sensational".
Mon 27th Jul until Sat 1st Aug 1953	Terry Thomas	With Full Variety show.
Mon 3rd Aug until Sat 8th Aug 1953	Ronnie Ronalde	"The Voice of Variety", with full supporting bill.
Mon 10th Aug until Sat 15th Aug 1953	David Whitfield	New Singing Star, with Bernard Miles, Chan Canasta, Max Geldray and Iris Sadler.
Mon 17th Aug until Sat 22nd Aug 1953	Burl Ives	American folk singer, with supporting variety acts.
Mon 24th Aug until Sat 29th Aug 1953	Oklahoma	Musical Play by Rogers & Hammerstein.
Mon 31st Aug until Sat 5th Sep 1953	David Hughes	Favourite Radio and Recording star, with Jon Pertwee, Janet Brown, and others.
Mon 7th Sep until Sat 12th Sep 1953	Celebration Rag	With Donald Peers, Jimmy James and the Tanner Sisters.
Mon 14th Sep until Sat 10th Oct 1953	Coronation Ice Cavalcade	With Heinie Brock, Micheline Lannoy and over 100 others.
Fri 9th Oct until Wed 14th Oct 1953	Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet	With full London Company, performing Blood Wedding, Carte Blanche, Coppelia, and others.
Mon 12th Oct until Sat 17th Oct 1953	Me and My Girl	By the Coventry Amateur Operatic Society.
Mon 19th Oct until Sat 7th Nov 1953	Coronation Birthday Show	With Jimmy Jewel, Ben Warriss, the Beverley Sisters, Diana Dors, Semprini, and others.
Mon 16th Nov until Sat 21st Nov 1953	The Quaker Girl	With Betty Leslie, Sonny Jenks, and huge company.
Mon 23rd Nov until Sat 28th Nov 1953	King's Rhapsody	With John Palmer, Sylvia Cecil, Muriel Barron and others.
Mon 30th Nov until Sat 5th Dec 1953	Seagulls Over Sorrento	Starring Ronald Shiner.
Mon 7th Dec until Sat 12th Dec 1953	Housemaster	Comedy Play, starring Jack Hulbert. (Theatre closed the following week for pantomime rehearsals.)
Wed 23rd Dec 1953 until Sat 27th Mar 1954	Dick Whittington and his Cat	Starring Reg Dixon, with Neville Kennard, Richard Curnock, Lynne Golding, and many others. (Ran for 14 weeks, watched by over 250,000 people.)

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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.