Apollo Theatre - History
The Apollo Theatre is located on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster in London. It was the fourth proper theatre to be constructed on the street. The nearest underground station is at Picadilly Circus whilst the nearest train station is at Charing Cross.
The impressive Apollo Theatre, with its grand décor opened its doors for the first time in February 1901. Its name Apollo is named after the Greek God of the Arts, fitting considering its long history of theatre and musical numbers. When the theatre was first built, it was intended as a venue of entertainment in music.
With a capacity of 796, the theatre was the first West End theatre to open during the Edwardian era in British history, opening only a month after Queen Victoria’s death. As a result, like its rival London theatres, it is steeped in history – quite literally, as the third tier balcony in the auditorium is supposedly the steepest in the capital. The building itself was renovated in 1932, creating a private foyer and ante room for the Royal Box. Inside there is a stone fascia which was sculpted by T Simpson, a central loggia and the auditorium has three galleries. When you see inside the theatre you are likely to be impressed by the magnificent work that has gone into the décor.
As a venue for music entertainment, the theatre produced a number of pieces such as The Belle Of Bohemia when the theatre opened in 1901. This one in particular was not as successful, but it cemented the theatre’s purpose and soon after the theatre was snapped up by Tom B Davis, who was quick to open the likes of Kitty Grey, The Girl From Kay’s and Three Little Maids. In 1904 the hit Veronique opened, the light opera starred Ruth Vincent with music by Andre Messager. Tom Jones, starring Cicely Courtneidge appeared in 1907 and then from 1908 to 1912 the theatre became the stage for Harry Gabriel Pelissier’s The Follies.
After this the musical entertainment staple was relaxed so that a more varied array of productions could take place at the theatre, an examples of which is 1916’s Hobson’s Choice by Harold Brighouse. Then in the 1920s the management of the theatre fell into the hands of George Grossmith and Edward Laurillard., during which times productions such as Trillby (1922) was staged, followed by further managerial changes and more successful plays.
In the thirties, light comedies became the highlight of the theatre and continued for some time with productions such a Marc Camoletti’s Boeing Boeing opening in 1962. It accumulated 2,035 performances in total (including its run at the Duchess Theatre). A similar fete occurred with Camoletti’s Don’t Dress For Dinner, which opened in 1991 before again transferring to the Duchess.
Modern History
In recent years productions have appeared such a Keith Waterhouse’s Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell, starring Peter O’Toole. Then there was Richard Harris’s Dead Guilty and in 1996 the hit Broadway play Sylvia appeared.
In 2005, Nica Burns and Max Weitzenhoffer became owners of the theatre and under them the Apollo became partnered with their other properties, The Garrick, Duchess and Lyric theatres, creating the group Nimax Theatres.
