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 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 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
1912 | Old Hippodrome, Hales Street | ||
| Date(s) | Show | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1st Jan until Sat 6th Jan 1912 | His Country Wife | Comedy sketch with artistes Ethel Arden and George Abel. Plus, Gobert Belling, Charles Cardow, George Prince, and many more. | |
| Mon 8th Jan until Sat 13th Jan 1912 | George Mozart | London's greatest comedian. Plus, Rivers and Sullivan, Jack Barker, Harold Baker, and others. | |
| Mon 15th Jan until Sat 20th Jan 1912 | The Palace of Orpheus | A prismatic creation of colours by The Elliott Savonas. Plus, Mart and Pep, Mr. and Mrs. Manning, Ida Revell, and more. | |
| Mon 22nd Jan until Sat 27th Jan 1912 | Mr. Fred Lindsay | Sensational feats of swordsmanship. Plus, The Motramos, Fitz Allen, The Musical McGregors, and more. | |
| Mon 29th Jan until Sat 3rd Feb 1912 | The 10 Loonies | The funniest musical act in the world. Plus, W. B. Raby, Gus. Weatman & Co., James Stewart, and others. | |
| Mon 5th Feb until Sat 10th Feb 1912 | Quinlan and Richards | Presenting 'The Quack Dentist'. Plus, Elsie Southgate, Marjorie Manners, Jimmy Godden, and more. | |
| Mon 12th Feb until Sat 17th Feb 1912 | Schwartz Bros. and Company | In comic catastrophe 'The Broken Mirror'. Plus, Larry Lewis, Anna Sachs, May Fairclough, and others. | |
| Mon 19th Feb until Sat 24th Feb 1912 | Zona Vevey | Assisted by composer Max Erard. Plus, Mooney and Holbein, Stacey and Williams, Owen McGiveney, and more. | |
| Mon 26th Feb until Sat 2nd Mar 1912 | The Twin Rigoletto Bros. | The most versatile artistes in the world. Plus, Three Sisters Herbert, The Maples, Gillin, and many others. | |
| Mon 4th Mar until Sat 9th Mar 1912 | H. O. Wills | The Water Rat. Plus, Scottish sketch 'The Concealed Bed', The Three Orleans, Harry Bickley, Violet King, and more. | |
| Mon 11th Mar until Sat 16th Mar 1912 | Miss Hetty King | Male impersonator. Plus, Charles Prelle's Bijou Circus, drama sketch 'Before the Dawn', Ernie Lotinga, and more. | |
| Mon 18th Mar until Sat 23rd Mar 1912 | Mark Sheridan | 'One of the B'Hoys'. Plus, Marie Kay, Vardon, Perry & Wilbur, Alice Hoodless, the Brothers Ford, plus more. | |
| Mon 25th Mar until Sat 30th Mar 1912 | Howard and Harris | In 'Adventures of a Happy Tramp'. Plus, The Colombias, Albertus and Millar, Carl Lynn, and others. | |
| Mon 1st Apr until Sat 6th Apr 1912 | Olga, Elgar and Eli Hudson | Musical Trio. Plus, Les Petits Anglais, Thorpe and Coe, the Five X Rays, Lillie Soutter, plus more. | |
| Mon 8th Apr until Sat 13th Apr 1912 | The Daily Mail | Harry Roxbury's latest comedy. Plus, Josie Delaine, Bert Errol, Lewis Deburgh, and more. | |
| Mon 15th Apr until Sat 20th Apr 1912 | Bransby Williams | Character actor. Plus, George Leavern, Hanvarr and Lee, Griffiths and Carmen, plus many others. | |
| Mon 22nd Apr until Sat 27th Apr 1912 | George Lashwood | Vocal comedian. Plus, Florence Smithers, Edith Fink, the Arthur Gallimore Trio, Albert Letine, and more. | |
| Mon 29th Apr until Sat 4th May 1912 | Coventry Amateur Operatic Society | Performing 'Patience' all week. | |
| Mon 6th May until Sat 11th May 1912 | Jay Laurier | Birmingham pantomime favourite. Plus, Woodhouse and Wells, Haley's Garden of Girls, Lily Burnand, and many others. | |
| Mon 13th May until Sat 18th May 1912 | Change or The Haunted Castle | Comedy drama. Plus, The Fitzroys, Chass Lewis, Three Brothers Huxter, Maud Vera, and more. | |
| Mon 20th May until Sat 25th May 1912 | The Four Ascots | Vaudeville dancers. Plus, Lipinski's 40 Dog Comedians, M. Gintaro, Ben Albert, and others. | |
| Mon 27th May until Sat 1st Jun 1912 | Gilday and Fox | America's foremost Hebrew comedians. Plus, Dick Tub, Randolph King, the Brothers Horne, and more. | |
| Mon 3rd Jun until Sat 8th Jun 1912 | Under Suspicion | By Horace Hunter and Co. with Lily Hammersley. Plus, Austin Rudd, Edna Latonne, and more. | |
| Mon 10th Jun until Sat 15th Jun 1912 | Carlton | Comedy card manipulator. Plus, Madge Temple, Wheeler and Wilson, Harry Claff, plus others. | |
| Mon 17th Jun until Sat 22nd Jun 1912 | Royal Banzai Family | Japan's greatest artistes. Plus, Cornalia and Eddie, Guy and Grahame, Margot Delan, and more. | |
| Mon 24th Jun until Sat 29th Jun 1912 | George Bastow | Plus, Ruth Lytton, Miss Juliet Page, Luis Hardt, the Cole de Losse Duo, plus others. | |
| Mon 1st Jul until Sat 6th Jul 1912 | Harmont Four | Quartette of Vaudeville comedy vocalists. Plus, Gaston Chevalier and Etoile le Noir, Tew and Lea, John Donald, and more. | |
| Mon 8th Jul until Sat 13th Jul 1912 | Erard's Great Company of Vaudevillians | Plus, W. F. Reno and his Bike, Charles Norton, the Bellonis, Cassie Walmer, and others. | |
| Mon 15th Jul until Sat 20th Jul 1912 | Marie Kendall | New songs and old favourites. Plus, Stuart Cleveland, Five Yorkshire Lasses, and many more. | |
| Mon 22nd Jul until Sat 27th Jul 1912 | Kajiyama | The man with the double brain. Plus, the Soho Trio, Van Bern, The Three Buckleys, and others. | |
| Mon 29th Jul until Sat 3rd Aug 1912 | Billy Merson | New star comedian. Plus, Miss Minnie Muir, The 6 Sailor Juveniles, The Raymond Trio, and more. | |
| Mon 5th Aug until Sat 10th Aug 1912 | Miss May Moore Duprez | The original Jolly Dutch Girl. Plus, Clara Coverdale, Sebastian Merrill & Co., McLellan and Carson, and more. | |
| Mon 12th Aug until Sat 17th Aug 1912 | The Okabe Family | Troupe of real Japanese artistes. Plus, Ernie Mayne, Les Fansettes, Martin Adeson, and others. | |
| Mon 19th Aug until Sat 24th Aug 1912 | Son of a Jew | Play, with Herbert Landeck and Company. Plus, Rosie Crouch & Frankie Welch, Bert Lloyd and Co., and others. | |
| Mon 26th Aug until Sat 31st Aug 1912 | Ella Retford | The charming comedienne. Plus, Fred karno's comedy 'The New Slavey', Jean Seul, Lievin and Pantzer, and others. | |
| Mon 2nd Sep until Sat 7th Sep 1912 | The Imperial Russian Dancers | Plus, The Mezzettis, Fred Hastings, Bertie Fowler, Park's Eton Boys, and more. | |
| Mon 9th Sep until Sat 14th Sep 1912 | Haley's Juveniles | In a beautiful vocal scena. Plus, Bertha Stuart, Johnny McElroy, the Grassy Brothers, and more. | |
| Mon 16th Sep until Sat 21st Sep 1912 | Everybody | A condensed morality play. Plus, A. D. Robbins, the Three Housinis, Tom E. Finglass, and more. | |
| Mon 23rd Sep until Sat 28th Sep 1912 | Till Sunday | Farcical sketch starring Arthur Roberts. Plus, R. H. Douglas, Harry and Fanny Dent, the Seven Bramusas, and others. | |
| Mon 30th Sep until Sat 5th Oct 1912 | The First of April | The funniest sketch of modern times, starring Tom Foy. Plus, Rosie Archer, the Four Newburys, and others. | |
| Mon 7th Oct until Sat 12th Oct 1912 | The Prince of Monte Carlo | By Harry Roxbury and Company. Plus, Lyons and Cullum, The Homer Quartette, Silbon's Cats, and more. | |
| Mon 14th Oct until Sat 19th Oct 1912 | Nina Gordon | Society entertainer. Plus, John Warren, Radford & Valentine, The Gillettes, Binns and Binns, and others. | |
| Mon 21st Oct until Sat 26th Oct 1912 | Betty Barclay and a Baritone | In their artistic scena. Plus, the Kenny Brothers, Ernie Myers, Barton and Ashley, and more. | |
| Mon 28th Oct until Sat 2nd Nov 1912 | Miss Queenie Leighton | The Drury Lane favourite. Plus, John Humphries, Coram, Sydney Brandon, Albert le Fre, and others. | |
| Mon 4th Nov until Sat 9th Nov 1912 | The Hydro | Fred Karno's comedy in two scenes. Plus, the Claymore Trio, Barney Murphy, the Pasquali Brothers, and more. | |
| Mon 11th Nov until Sat 16th Nov 1912 | Jack Pleasants | Plus, the Three Morleys, Gus Fowler, comedy sketch 'The Washing House Key', and more. | |
| Mon 18th Nov until Sat 23rd Nov 1912 | Wee Georgie Wood | The world's greatest juvenile comedian. Plus, the 4 Sensational Boises, Cosgrove and Burns, and more. | |
| Mon 25th Nov until Sat 30th Nov 1912 | Chas. R. Whittle | Comedian. Plus, Wyatt and Dirome, Frank Armstrong, Little Zola, and others. | |
| Mon 2nd Dec until Sat 7th Dec 1912 | Tom Edwards | The huntsman ventriloquist. Plus, Harry Allister, Fred Keeton, Roma and Romani, and much more. | |
| Mon 9th Dec until Sat 14th Dec 1912 | Irma Lorraine | Celebrated dancer. Plus, Jock Whiteford, Mabel Sinclair, Olly Oakley, and more. | |
| Mon 16th Dec until Sat 21st Dec 1912 | The Fool of The Force | Starring George Carney. Plus, J. A. Wilson, Kirk and Saraski, Lawley and East, Miss Florrie Gallimore, and others. | |
| Mon 23rd Dec until Sat 28th Dec 1912 | The Romance of a Studio | Mystery, presented by T. Elder Hearn. Plus, Smite and Smote, George Newburn, Tom Hearn, and more. (Closed Christmas Day.) | |
| Mon 30th Dec 1912 until Sat 4th Jan 1913 | Dale & O'Malley | The last word in laughs. Plus, Caryl Wilbur, Cissie Curlette, Zella Vondi and Co., The Forders, and more. | |
Prev year: 1911 Next year: 1913
1884 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 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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