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 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

Date(s)	Show	Notes
1940	New Hippodrome, Hales Street
Mon 29th Jan until Sat 3rd Feb 1940	Variety Show	Troise and his Mandoliers, Gaston & Andree, Noni, Eddie Leslie & Fred Gratton, Fred Brezin, Agar & Young, Wilbur Hall, and others.
Mon 5th Feb until Sat 10th Feb 1940	Variety Show	Les Allen, Ivor Moreton & Dave Kaye, Willy Pantzer and his World Famous Midgets, Eddie Leslie & Fred Gratton, and others.
Mon 12th Feb until Sat 17th Feb 1940	Variety Show	Jimmy James, George Scott-Wood, Sam Browne, and others.
Mon 19th Feb until Sat 24th Feb 1940	Variety Show	Harold Ramsay, the Ace Organist of the Air, Hetty King, Anona Winn, George Bolton, and others.
Mon 26th Feb until Sat 2nd Mar 1940	Variety Show	Ted Ray, Will Hay Junior, Stanley Holloway, Five Sherry Brothers, Ernest Shannon, and others.
Mon 4th Mar until Sat 9th Mar 1940	Variety Show	Harry Welchman, George Clarke, Billy Thorburn, Stanley King, and others.
Mon 11th Mar until Sat 16th Mar 1940	Variety Show	Jack Payne and his Band, Al Devito, and others.
Mon 18th Mar until Sat 23rd Mar 1940	Eve on Parade	Revue, with Albert Burdon, Harry Lester, Tubby Turner and others.
Mon 25th Mar until Sat 30th Mar 1940	Jack Jackson and his Band	With Heather Gayle, the Two Cromwells, the Bega Three, Kitty Masters, Dick Henderson, Tex McCleod and the 12 Adorables.
Mon 1st Apr until Sat 6th Apr 1940	Variety Show	Elsie & Doris Waters, Webster Booth & Ann Ziegler, and others.
Mon 8th Apr until Sat 13th Apr 1940	The Famous Bal Tabarin Revue	Includes Billy Caryll, Hilda Mundy and Jack Daly.
Mon 15th Apr until Sat 20th Apr 1940	D'Oyly Carte Opera Company	A different Gilbert & Sullivan Opera each night.
Mon 22nd Apr until Sat 27th Apr 1940	Reginald Foort	World Famous Organist, plus George Harold, The Four Co-Harmonists, The Gordon ay Girls, Jack Le Dair, Freddie Forbes, and others.
Mon 29th Apr until Sat 4th May 1940	George Formby	First appearance since his return from France. Plus the Four Aces, Beryl, Terry Wilson, Tommy Jover, and others.
Mon 6th May until Sat 11th May 1940	Black And Blue	George Black's Intimate Rag. With Judy Shirley, Cyril Fletcher, Cairoli Bros., Jack Stanford, and others.
Mon 13th May until Sat 18th May 1940	Henry Hall and his Orchestra	With Billy Russell, Iris Sadler, Newman Twins and the Whirling Tornadoes.
Mon 20th May until Sat 25th May 1940	Chu Chin Chow	Actual London Company of 90 Artistes.
Mon 27th May until Sat 1st Jun 1940	Radio Club	With Scott & Whalley, Dave & Joe O'Gorman, Albert Sandler, Billy Danvers, and others.
Mon 3rd Jun until Sat 8th Jun 1940	Tropical Express	A Revue of Sparkle and Speed featuring 80 artistes.
Mon 10th Jun until Sat 15th Jun 1940	Joe Loss and his Band	With Henri Vadden & Girls, Sirdani, Bert, Bert & Bert, and others.
Mon 17th Jun until Sat 22nd Jun 1940	Variety Show	Starring Tommy Trinder, with Nat Mills & Bobbie, and others.
Mon 24th Jun until Sat 29th Jun 1940	ITMA (It's That Man Again)	Starring Tommy Handley, also Jack Train and June Malo.
Mon 1st Jul until Sat 6th Jul 1940	Star Variety	Sydney Lipton and his Orchestra, Forsythe, Seamon & Farrell, Richard Hassett, Vera Lynn and others.
Mon 8th Jul until Sat 13th Jul 1940	Roll Out The Barrel	Starring Nat Jackley, Jack Clifford and Eddie Gray.
Mon 15th Jul until Sat 20th Jul 1940	Variety Show	Oscar Rabin's Romany Band, Murray & Mooney, Edna Squire-Brown, and others.
Mon 22nd Jul until Sat 27th Jul 1940	Dorchester Follies	With Maurice Winnick and his Broadcasting Band, Jack Francois, Archie Glen, and others.
Mon 29th Jul until Sat 3rd Aug 1940	"Folies Superbes" The London Casino Show	With a cast of over 70 artists, including Andre Randall and Sherkot.
Mon 5th Aug until Sat 10th Aug 1940	Carroll Gibbons and his Savoy Hotel Orpheans	With Freddie Bamberger, Low & Webster, The Rapid Four, Robb Wilton, and others.
Mon 12th Aug until Sat 17th Aug 1940	Black Velvet	George Black's Intimate Rag, with Ted Ray and Ronald Frankau.
Mon 19th Aug until Sat 24th Aug 1940	Flash!	The Great Anglo-American Revue, with Moore Marriott, Graham Moffatt, Harry Tate Jnr., Eddie Leslie & Jean Adrienne, and others.
Mon 26th Aug until Sat 31st Aug 1940	Variety Show	With Ken Johnson, Herschel "Jizz" Henlere, Albert Whelan, George Elrick, and others.
Mon 2nd Sep until Sat 7th Sep 1940	Roll Out The Barrel	Starring Nat Jackley, Jack Clifford and Eddie Gray.
Mon 9th Sep until Sat 14th Sep 1940	Variety Show	With Syd Seymour, Martyn Green & Sylvia Cecil, Arthur Prince, and others.
Mon 16th Sep until Sat 21st Sep 1940	Flying High	With Maurice Colleano, Al Bowlly & Jimmy Mesene, Elsie Bower, Archie Glen, and others.
Mon 23rd Sep until Sat 28th Sep 1940	Variety Show	With Will Fyffe, the Western Brothers, Adelaide Hall, and others.
Mon 30th Sep until Sat 5th Oct 1940	Variety Show	With Douglas Wakefield, Turner Layton, Stainless Stephen, and others.
Mon 7th Oct until Sat 12th Oct 1940	Variety Show	Nat Gonella, Naughton & Gold, Gaston Palmer, and others.
Mon 14th Oct until Sat 19th Oct 1940	The Land of Smiles	Starring Richard Turner.
Mon 21st Oct until Sat 26th Oct 1940	Variety Show	With Joe Davis, Billy Bennett and Inga Anderson.
Mon 28th Oct until Sat 2nd Nov 1940	Variety Show	With Tommy Trinder, Afrique, the Norman Thomas Trio, and others.
Mon 4th Nov until Sat 9th Nov 1940	Huge Birthday Celebration Bill	Variety with Evelyn Laye, The Two Leslies, Nat Jackley & Jack Clifford, Norman Evans, Wilson Keppel & Betty, and others.
Mon 11th Nov until Thu 14th Nov 1940	Continuous Variety	With Macari, Georgie Wood, Randolph Sutton, and others. (The show's run was cut short by the Blitz on the 14th.)
Sat 7th Dec 1940	Colossal Variety Show	One-off show at 2pm in aid of the Mayor's Distress Fund.
Mon 9th Dec until Sat 14th Dec 1940	Grand Re-Opening - Continuous Star Variety	Starring Teddy Joyce and his Famous Band, Tex McLeod, Dorothy Gray, Jack Grayson, Betty Driver, George Bolton, and others.
Mon 16th Dec until Sat 21st Dec 1940	Continuous Variety	With Revnell & West, Clifford & Marion, Hal Swain and his Swing Sistas, and others.
Mon 23rd Dec until Sat 28th Dec 1940	Revue D'Elegance	The Latest London Casino Show, with Freddie Forbes and 60 international artistes.
Mon 30th Dec 1940 until Sat 4th Jan 1941	Continuous Variety	With Jack Doyle, Max Wall, Kimberley & Page, and others.

Prev year: 1939 Next year: 1941

Also of interest might be A short history of Coventry's Theatres and Cinemas, by Bill Birch.

Hippodrome / Coventry Theatre / Apollo show archive

1940

New Hippodrome, Hales Street