Opened on 15 October 1930 as the New Victoria, this West End theatre on Wilton Road began life as a lavish super cinema during the great age of the picture palace. It was designed by Ernest Wamsley Lewis and W. E. Trent for Provincial Cinematograph Theatres, with an Art Deco interior themed around an undersea world of shell-shaped lights and wave-like plasterwork. The building occupies an awkward triangular site between Wilton Road and Vauxhall Bridge Road, which gave it two almost identical frontages, one facing each street, directly opposite Victoria station. The twin-fronted design remains one of its most recognised features and once earned it a teasing nickname among taxi drivers. For its first decades it operated mainly as a cinema, with occasional variety and stage shows, before closing in the mid-1970s. It reopened in 1981 as the Apollo Victoria, a live theatre, marking the change with a concert by Shirley Bassey. The venue quickly became a home for large-scale musicals, staging The Sound of Music, Camelot and Fiddler on the Roof early in the decade. From 1984 it housed Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express, whose roller-skating cast performed on a track built through the auditorium during an 18-year run. When that production finally closed in 2002, a partial restoration uncovered original Art Deco detailing that had been hidden for years. Bombay Dreams and Saturday Night Fever followed before the theatre took on the show it is now best known for. Since 27 September 2006 the Apollo Victoria has been the London home of Wicked, the prequel to The Wizard of Oz, and the interior has been dressed to evoke the Emerald City. The long-running musical has welcomed many millions of theatregoers. The auditorium seats around 2,300, making it one of the larger West End houses, and it is owned and operated by ATG Entertainment. The building was given Grade II* listed protection in recognition of its architecture. Its position immediately across from Victoria station, served by Underground and mainline rail, makes it one of the most easily reached theatres in central London.

Type: Theater / Concert Hall

Address: 17 Wilton Road, London, United Kingdom, SW1V 1LG

Website: https://www.theapollovictoria.com

Capacity: 2328

Opening Date: 15/10/1930