About the Apollo Theatre
The Apollo Theatre opened in 1901 and is one of a cluster of theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue that is generally considered the heart of London’s West End theatre district. Architect Lewin Sharp designed the theatre with a specific focus on the presentation of musical theatre. The first production at the Apollo Theatre was the American musical comedy The Belle of Bohemia and over the subsequent years, a high turnover of musicals and plays opened at the venue.
Constructed in a French Renaissance style, the Apollo is opulently decorated with much of the Grade II listed theatre adorned in a lavish Louis XIV style. Due to the death of Queen Victoria in the month preceding the Apollo’s grand opening, the theatre became the first to be completed in the Edwardian period.
In 2013, the Balcony collapsed during a performance of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, destroying some of the ceiling’s ornate plasterwork. The Apollo Theatre was closed for three months while investigations took place and re-opened in 2014 with a reduced capacity. A temporary ceiling was placed above the upper circle, enclosing the Balcony section, which has remained out-of-use ever since. Notable recent productions at the Apollo Theatre include Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Jerusalem, and The Audience.
