New Victoria Cinema New Victoria Theatre | |
 Apollo Victoria Theatre in 2006 | |
 Interactive map of Apollo Victoria Theatre | |
| Address | Wilton Road London,SW1 United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°29′44″N0°08′34″W / 51.4956°N 0.1427°W /51.4956; -0.1427 |
| Public transit |   Victoria |
| Designation | Grade II* |
| Type | West End theatre |
| Capacity | 2,328 (seated)[1][2] |
| Production | Wicked |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1930 (as cinema) |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Architect | E. Wamsley Lewis |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheApollo Victoria Theatre is aWest End theatre on Wilton Road in theWestminster district of London, across fromLondon Victoria Station. (The theatre also has an entrance onVauxhall Bridge Road.) Opened in 1930 as a cinema and variety theatre, theApollo Victoria became a venue formusical theatre, beginning withThe Sound of Music in 1981, and including the long-runningStarlight Express, from 1984 to 2002. The theatre is currently the home of the musicalWicked, which has played at the venue since 27 September 2006.
The theatre was built by architect Lewis andWilliam Edward Trent in 1929 forProvincial Cinematograph Theatres, a part of theGaumont British chain.[3] The theatre was built with two identical façades on Wilton and Vauxhall Bridge Roads. Construction is principal of concrete, with strong horizontal banding along the exterior sides of the auditorium. By contrast, the entrances feature a cantilevered canopy and are framed by vertical channelling, with two black marble columns rising to the roof line. The entrance is simple, making use of chrome trimmings, this leads to a nautical themed interior in the originalArt Deco style that makes extensive use of concealed lighting, decorated with scallop shells and columns that burst into sculptured fountains at the ceiling.
The theatre had a 74 feet (22.6 m) by 24 feet (7.3 m) stage and was equipped with 10 dressing rooms and two suites for principals.[4] The theatre wasGrade II* listed on 28 June 1972.[5]
The theatre opened as the New Victoria Cinema on 15 October 1930 with a film starring George Arlis inOld English, based on a stage play byJohn Galsworthy.[6] It was equipped with a Compton 3 manual 15 ranktheatre organ, played on the opening night by Reginald Foort.[4] and the theatre also staged variety shows. The first show played also during the opening was Hoop-La.[3]Frederic Curzon was the organist from 1934 until 1938.[7]
Variety quickly gave way to a specialisation in film performances, with occasional performances bybig bands. In June 1939, the cinema was one of the three London sites chosen to present a live relay ofTheEpsom Derby from the pre-warBBC experimental transmissions, utilisingBaird equipment to project onto a screen 15 feet by 12 (4.6 by 3.7 m) in sepia.[8] From September 1940 to May 1941, the theatre was closed due toWorld War II, but no serious damage was sustained and it reopened quickly.[4] Plans were made for demolition in the 1950s, but it was saved and presented a mixture of ballet, live shows and films.[3] The last films were shown in November 1975, a double bill ofPeter Cushing inLegend of the Werewolf (1975)[citation needed] andAdrienne Corri inVampire Circus (1972),[citation needed] though the theatre remained open until 1976, after which it closed for five years. It was a rock concert venue from 1976 until around 1980 with acts such as ELO,Cliff Richard, Peter Gabriel, Janis Ian and many others playing there.Led Zeppelin rehearsed there, onMay Day, 1980. It reopened in 1981 as the Apollo Victoria Theatre with aShirley Bassey concert.[4][9]
Musicals, includingThe Sound of Music,Camelot andFiddler on the Roof played at the theatre in the early 1980s. In 1984, the interior was extensively modified by the introduction of a 'race track' that ran through the audience, for the showStarlight Express with performers on roller skates. The show premièred on 27 March, composed byAndrew Lloyd Webber and directed byTrevor Nunn and ran for 7,406 performances, over 18 years.[10] With the removal of the 'tracks', the interior was extensively restored by architects Jaques Muir and Partners. This included the removal of 3,500 incandescent lamps that had become difficult to maintain and consumed a considerable amount of power. These were replaced by 88,000 low powerLEDs specially designed for the theatre, creating the first auditorium completely lit in this way.[11] Another Lloyd Webber production followed,Bombay Dreams premièred on 19 June 2002. It was created byA. R. Rahman with lyrics byDon Black and was directed bySteven Pimlott,[12] closing after 1,500 performances on 13 June 2004. This was followed by the return to theWest End of theBee Gee's musicalSaturday Night Fever on 6 July 2004, closing 22 October 2005 to tour.[13] This was followed on 10 April 2006 by thejukebox musicalMovin' Out, featuring the music of Billy Joel. This starredJames Fox but ran for only two months.
TheBroadway musicalWicked received its London première at the venue on 27 September 2006 with a cast featuringIdina Menzel asElphaba,Helen Dallimore asGlinda,Nigel Planer asThe Wizard,Adam Garcia asFiyero andMiriam Margolyes asMadame Morrible.[14]
On 27 September 2016,Wicked celebrated its tenth anniversary in the West End, with a curtain call reunion of former cast members.[15] On April 24, 2024,Wicked became the 10thlongest-running West End show in history with its 6,762nd performance.[16]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
