Apollo Victoria Theatre
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- For other theatres with a similar name, see Victoria Theatre (disambiguation)
| Apollo Victoria Theatre | |
 |
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| Address |
Wilton Road
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|---|---|
| City | |
| Designation | Grade II* |
| Architect | E. Warmsley Lewis and W E Trent |
| Owned by | Live Nation |
| Capacity | 2,208 (seated) |
| Type | West End theatre |
| Opened | 1930, as cinema |
| Years active | 1981 - present |
| Previous names | New Victoria Cinema New Victoria Theatre |
| Production | Wicked |
| www.livenationtheatres.co.uk/index.asp?VenueID=88 | |
| Coordinates: | |
The Apollo Victoria Theatre, is a West End theatre, on Wilton Road near Victoria station in the City of Westminster. Opened as a cinema and variety theatre, the Apollo Victoria became a venue for musical theatre, beginning with The Sound of Music in 1981, and including the long-running Starlight Express, from 1984 to 2002. The theatre is now the home of the musical Wicked.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Architecture
The theatre was built by architects Ernest Wainsley Lewis and William Edward Trent in 1929 for Provincial Cinematograph Theatres, a part of the Gaumont British chain.[1] The theatre was built with two identical façades on Wilton and Vauxhall Bridge Roads. Construction is principally of concrete, with strong horizontal banding along the exterior sides of the auditorium. By contrast the entrances feature a canterlevered 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 original Art 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.[2] The theatre was Grade II* listed on 28 June 1972.[3]
[edit] Cinema and variety
The theatre opened as the New Victoria Cinema on 15 October 1930 with a film starring George Arlis in Old English, based on a stage play by John Galsworthy.[4] It was equipped with a Compton 3 manual 15 rank theatre organ, played on the opening night by Reginald Foort.[2] and the theatre also staged variety shows.
Variety quickly gave way to a specialisation in film performances, with occasional performances by big bands. In June 1939, the cinema was one of the three London sites chosen to present a live relay of The Epsom Derby from the pre-war BBC experimental transmissions, utilising Baird equipment to project onto a screen 15 feet by 12 (4.6 by 3.7 m) in sepia.[5] From September 1940 to May 1941, the theatre was closed due to World War II, but no serious damage was sustained and it reopened quickly.[2] Plans were made for demolition in the 1950s, but it was saved and presented a mixture of ballet, live shows and films.[1] The cinema finally closed in November 1975 with a double bill of Peter Cushing in Legend of the Werewolf (1975)[6] and Adrienne Corri in Vampire Circus (1972),[7] reopening in 1981 as the New Victoria Theatre presenting concerts.[2] Shirley Bassey sang at the re-opening.
[edit] Musical theatre
Musicals, including The Sound of Music, Camelot and Fiddler 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 show Starlight Express with performers on roller skates. The show premièred on 27 March, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and directed by Trevor Nunn and ran for 7,406 performances, over 18 years.[8] 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 power LEDs specially designed for the theatre, creating the first auditorium completely lit in this way.[9] Another Lloyd Webber production followed, Bombay Dreams premièred on 19 June 2002. It was created by A. R. Rahman with lyrics by Don Black and was directed by Steven Pimlott[10], closing after 1,500 performances on 13 June 2004. This was followed by the return to the West End of the Bee Gee's musical Saturday Night Fever on 6 July 2004, closing 22 October 2005 to tour.[11] This was followed on 10 April 2006 by the jukebox musical Movin' Out, featuring the music of Billy Joel. This starred starring James Fox but ran for only two months.
The Broadway production of Wicked received its European première at the venue on 27 September 2006 with a cast including Idina Menzel recreating her original Broadway role as Elphaba, Australia's Helen Dallimore as Glinda, Nigel Planer as the Wizard, Adam Garcia as Fiyero, Miriam Margolyes as Madame Morrible, Katie Rowley-Jones as Nessarose, James Gillian as Boq, and Martin Ball.[12] Kerry Ellis has taken over the role of Elphaba, Dianne Pilkington has taken over as Glinda, Oliver Tompsett for Fiyero, Susie Blake, then Harriet Thrope as Madame Morrible, and Andy Mace for Doctor Dillamond. The show claimed a record-breaking £761,000 taken at the box office, during its first eight performances.[13]
The theatre is one of the largest in the West End, with a capacity is 2,305 including standing spaces. The theatre is owned by Live Nation UK.
[edit] Recent and present productions
- The Sound of Music (August 17, 1981 – September 18, 1982)
- Camelot (November 23, 1982 – February 5, 1983)
- Fiddler on the Roof (June 28, 1983 – October 29, 1983)
- Starlight Express (March 27, 1984 – January 12, 2002) by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe
- Bombay Dreams (June 19, 2002 – June 13, 2004) by AR Rahman and Meera Syal
- Saturday Night Fever (July 2, 2004 – February 18, 2006) by The Bee Gees and Nan Knighton
- Movin' Out (March 28, 2006 – May 22, 2006) by Twyla Tharp and Billy Joel
- Wicked (September 27, 2006 - ), by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman
[edit] Nearby Transport
- London Victoria Station
- Victoria Tube Station (Victoria, Circle and District lines)
- Victoria Coach Station
- Numerous local bus services
[edit] References
- ^ a b Apollo Victoria, 17 Wilton Road (Arthur Lloyd) accessed 11 Jan 2008
- ^ a b c d Apollo Victoria Theatre (Cinema Treasures) accessed 12 Jan 2008
- ^ Theatre listing (Images of England) English Heritage accessed 11 Jan 2008
- ^ Old English (1930) (NY Times review) access 12 Jan 2008
- ^ Television and Short Wave World February 1939, reproduced in A History of Early Television Stephen Herbert pp.111 {Taylor & Francis, 2004) ISBN 0415326672
- ^ Legend of the Werewolf (1975) at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Vampire Circus (1972) at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Lloyd Webber toasts Starlight finale 13 January 2002 (BBC News) accessed 12 Jan 2008
- ^ Stage Electrics and World First for Apollo Victoria Entertainment Technology (2003) accessed 12 Jan 2008
- ^ Bombay Dreams, review Nicholas de Jongh The Evening Standard, 20 June 2002
- ^ Saturday Night Fever (The Stage) accessed 12 Jan 2008
- ^ Wicked (The Stage) accessed 11 Jan 2008
- ^ Wicked 'sets record' for West End (BBC News) accessed 12 Jan 2008
- Guide to British Theatres 1750-1950, John Earl and Michael Sell pp. 99 (Theatres Trust, 2000) ISBN 0-7136-5688-3
