Apollo Theatre
Sections:
Theatre build date:
1901
History:
London’s first Edwardian theatre, the Apollo first staged a number of contemporary musical comedies, finding its first great success in Véronique (1904) which ran for almost five hundred performances.
Although in its first decade the Apollo was devoted almost entirely to musical productions, for eleven years from 1913 the celebrated actor and producer Sir Charles Hawtrey produced a number of plays and revivals here with Things We’d Like to Know (1914) and George du Maurier’s Trilby (1922) among the most successful. The Apollo’s reputation as a successful playhouse has been an enduring one.
In 1962, the comedy Boeing Boeing ran for three years before transferring to the Duchess Theatre, and 1968 saw the first West End production of an Alan Bennett play, Forty Years On starring John Gielgud. Incidentally, Gielgud gave his last ever stage performance at the Apollo, in Hugh Whitmore’s The Best Of Friends (1988), aged 83.
More recent notable productions at the Apollo have included Defending the Caveman (1999), Side Man (2000) and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2006).
Previously showing:
Divas (2008)
The Vortex (2008)
An Audience With The Mafia (2008)
Glengarry Glen Ross (2007)
The Last Five Years (2007)
The Glass Menagerie (2007)
Summer and Smoke (2006)
Close to:
Piccadilly Circus
The Trocadero
Contact Details
Apollo Theatre
Shaftesbury Avenue
W1V 7DH
For all ticket enquiries, call:
0871 789 1004
Map
Facilities
Theatre capacity:
775
Stage door location:
The Apollo theatre stage door is located at the rear of the building on a small street that links Rupert Street and Great Windmill Street.
Theatre layout:
The Apollo Theatre is set out on four levels: stalls, Dress Circle, Upper Circle and what is said to be the steepest balcony in London. The stalls area offers clear views throughout, with a small central-only area at the back of the stalls offering fantastic value for money.
The Dress Circle is split into three by two aisles and the sharp curvature of the whole area makes for some uncomfortable viewing angles towards the back on the side sections. The same restriction applies in the Upper Circle, although the balcony can also offer great views for the price.
Air conditioned:
Yes
