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Hippodrome / Coventry Theatre / Apollo show archive

An 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

1946

New Hippodrome, Hales Street

Date(s)ShowNotesImages
Tue 19th Feb until Sat 2nd Mar 1946Hot IceTom Arnold's Ice Skating Spectacular, with Armand Perren, Margaret Newson and Derek Roy.
Tue 5th Mar until Sat 9th Mar 1946Peter PanWith Diane Calderwood, Celia Lipton, Mercia Swinburne and George Curzon.
Mon 11th Mar until Sat 16th Mar 1946Can-CanOperette, with Pat Taylor, Clifford Mollison, Elizabeth French and Leo Franklyn.
Mon 18th Mar until Sat 23rd Mar 1946Harry Benet's Royal Majestic CircusLions, Horses, Mules, Clowns, etc.!
Mon 25th Mar until Sat 30th Mar 1946Portrait in BlackWith Diana Wynyard, Ronald Squire, Hugh Williams and Patrick Barr.
Mon 1st Apr until Sat 6th Apr 1946The Merry WidowStarring Marjorie Sandford and Frank Fox.
Mon 8th Apr until Sat 13th Apr 1946Rocky Mountain RhythmFeaturing Big Bill Campbell and his famous Radio Cowboys and Ranch Girls.
Mon 15th Apr until Sat 20th Apr 1946Syd Seymour and his Mad Hatters of 1946With Pat O'Brien, Jimmy Mac & Frank, Constance Evans, and others.
Mon 22nd Apr until Sat 27th Apr 1946Variety ShowWith Cavan O'Connor, Suzette Tarri, Max Bacon, and others.
Mon 29th Apr until Sat 4th May 1946Max Miller The Cheeky ChappieWith Connor & Drake, Sid Plummer and an All-Star Programme.
Mon 6th May until Sat 11th May 1946George FormbyAnd an All-Star Programme.
Mon 13th May until Sat 18th May 1946Geraldo and His OrchestraWith Len Clifford & Freda, Archie Elray & Co., Elsie Percival, Manley & Auston, and others.
Mon 20th May until Sat 25th May 1946Grand National NightWith Leslie Banks and Hermione Baddeley.
Mon 27th May until Sat 1st Jun 1946International BalletPerforming Everyman, Swan Lake, Aurora's Wedding, Coppelia and Comus.
Mon 3rd Jun until Sat 8th Jun 1946Elusive LadyWith Evelyn Laye and Frank Lawton.
Mon 10th Jun until Sat 15th Jun 1946Strike A New NoteWith Richard (Stinker) Murdoch, Sam Costa, Cliff Cook, Freddie Frinton, and others.
Mon 17th Jun until Sat 22nd Jun 1946Zuider ZeeWith Macari and his Dutch Serenaders, Stanelli, Stainless Stephen, and many others.
Mon 24th Jun until Sat 29th Jun 1946The Big BroadcastWith Issy Bonn, Margarite & Charles, and others.
Mon 1st Jul until Sat 6th Jul 1946Mayfair Merry-Go-RoundWith Jack Jackson and his Band.
Mon 8th Jul until Sat 13th Jul 1946Carroll Levis and his BBC DiscoveriesWith Billy Cooke, George Mansfield, etc.
Mon 15th Jul until Sat 20th Jul 1946Charles Shadwell and his OrchestraWith Eric James, Charmian Innes, Robert Greene, Dave & Joe O'Gorman, Albert Whelan, and others.
Mon 22nd Jul until Sat 27th Jul 1946Variety ShowWith Hutch, Jimmy James, Jack Wilson and Harry Engleman, and others.
Mon 29th Jul until Sat 3rd Aug 1946Old Mother Riley and Her Daughter KittyWith Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane.
Mon 5th Aug until Sat 10th Aug 1946Scot FreeWith Jack Radcliffe, Hella Toros, Edward Reach, and others.
Tue 13th Aug until Sat 24th Aug 1946The Dancing YearsWith Barry Sinclair, Jessica James, Angela Braemar, and others.
Mon 26th Aug until Sat 31st Aug 1946The Cure For LoveWith Wilfred Pickles and Ella Retford.
Mon 2nd Sep until Sat 7th Sep 1946Peek-A-BooStarring Phyllis Dixey, with Howard De Courcy, Harold Childs, Eddie Molloy and Nor Kiddie.Click to view
Mon 9th Sep until Sat 14th Sep 1946Call Home The HeartWith Sybil Thorndike, Judy Campbell, Malcolm Keen and William Fox.
Mon 16th Sep until Sat 21st Sep 1946Good-Night ViennaWith James Etherington, Marjorie Browne, Teddy St. Denis and Jackie Hunter.
Mon 23rd Sep until Sat 28th Sep 1946The Sadler's Wells BalletWith Full Orchestra.Click to view
Mon 30th Sep until Sat 5th Oct 1946Grand All-Star VarietyWith Charlie Kunz, G. H. Elliott, Peter Brough and others.
Tue 8th Oct until Sat 12th Oct 1946Snow White and the Seven DwarfsWith Betty Shaw and Bruce Carfax.
Mon 14th Oct until Sat 19th Oct 1946The KingmakerWith Kay Hammond, Irene Vanbrugh and John Clements.
Mon 21st Oct until Sat 26th Oct 1946Pick-Up GirlWith Macdonald Parke and Joan Matheson.
Mon 28th Oct until Sat 2nd Nov 1946Let's Get On With ItGrand Gala Broadcast Performance, with All-Star Company of 70 artistes.
Mon 4th Nov until Sat 9th Nov 1946The Years BetweenFeaturing Alan Webb, Hazel Terry, Allan Jeayes and Patrick Cream.
Tue 12th Nov until Sat 16th Nov 1946Red MillMusical, with Maudie Edwards, Slim Allan, Billy Milton, and others.Click to view
Mon 18th Nov until Sat 23rd Nov 1946The Vagabond KingBy The Coventry Operatic Society.
Mon 25th Nov until Sat 30th Nov 1946Anthony and CleopatraFeaturing Edith Evans and Godfrey Tearle.
Mon 2nd Dec until Sat 7th Dec 1946Norman Evans - "Good Evans"With Vic & Joe Crastonian, Radcliffe & Ray, the Four Pomars, and others.
Mon 9th Dec until Sat 14th Dec 1946Henry Hall and his OrchestraAll-Star Variety Show. (Theatre closed from the 16th to the 22nd for Pantomime rehearsals.)
Mon 23rd Dec 1946 until Sat 15th Feb 1947Humpty DumptyPantomime, with Billy Danvers, Eve Lester, Sonny Jenks, the Chevalier Brothers, and many others.

Prev year: 1945Showing 1946Next year: 1947

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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