Apollo Theatre

A fab theatre with a beautifully painted ceiling and fairly comfy chairs.
At the moment Showstopper The Improvised Musical is showing and I can’t recommend it enough! It is hilarious, good music, a reasonable story made. Can’t wait to go back as it’ll be a totally different storey!

The Apollo Theatre was the 4^th theatre to open on the busiest theatre strip on London’s Sharftesbury Avenue in 1901.
This Grade II listed theatre has a capacity of 775 on 4 levels. It sems smaller and more intimate than that. When I came to see Showstopper, the improvised musical yesterday, I sat in row D on the Dress Circle. I was surprised though that the Dress Circle comprised of only 6 rows. The seats themselves were comfortable, with a clear view of the stage. The seat pitch though seemed smaller than most other theatres in the West End. I’m short, and even I had to keep moving me feet to feel comfortable.
The auditorium in vey ornate. Unfortunately the ceiling collapsed a couple of years ago during a performace of ‘The Curious Incident of a the Dog in the Night-​Time’, when 76 people were injured and 58 were taken to be trated at several hospitals across London. The replacement ceiling looks as though it was put together quickly so that the theatre could open as soon as possible, rather than recreating the ceiling in its original format. I do hope that this is the long term aim, as other than the ceiling, it really is a beautiful autitorium.
Toilets always seem to be an issue in London’s theatres. The Apollo is no exception. I was in the Dress Circle and had the go down two flights of stairs and through the bar to reach the gents.
The Apollo Theatre has plenty of character. I’s worth considering the length of the production you are seeing, as I don’t think with the seat pitch, I could endure a performance theat longer than 2 hours.

I saw Let the Right One in at The Apollo a few weeks ago and I absolutely loved it. I hadn’t seen either movie adaptation or read the book, but I knew the gist of the story.
The play was put on by The National Theatre of Scotland and the acting was excellent, I really think the Scottish accents lent a lot to the scenes as well, especially the ones that included Oskar and his bullies. The set design was perfect for the play, and I loved the fact they painted the nighttime sky on the ceiling of the theatre as well.
Some of the scenes are pretty brutal and bloody, which is worth noting since the lady sitting next to me appeared to be quite surprised… So many gasps and shrieks…
But if you don’t mind a bit of shock and gore, I’d definitely recommend you go and see it while it’s playing.

The Apollo is your classic London theatre, albeit a small one. All the usual suspects are there, the bar, circle and stalls. Be warned however the first 2 or 3 rows of the stalls are very close to a high stage. If you’re on the short side you will be looking at the front of the stage and the actors ankles. Even at 6’2″ I walked out with a stiff neck from craning to see what was going on from our row 2 position. Optimum position from what I saw would be about row 6.

Small, traditional London theatre. Surprisingly roomy and comfortable seats for an old theatre, normally your knees are wedged up against the seat in front. Ornate plaster work as you would expect in traditional London theatres.
The bar is a good size and the service really quick for a theatre. It didn’t get too crazy during the intermission.

What a beautiful, amazing theater. I saw «A Curious Night at the Theater» here, which was an autism benefit that allowed the theater to be used in a really unique way. Aside from the actual stage performances, videos were projected on both the back wall and floor for the balcony to see, and there was a live auction. Additionally, there was stand up, and live music (Bat for Lashes! Chris Martin!). All in all, I saw what this theater can do, and I was very impressed.
The main lobby is quite small, and the entrance to the balconies is about as unglamorous as can be, but inside, the decadence of the old theater is well preserved. The seats are appropriately uncomfortable, and original. The height you reach sitting in the balcony is in fact quite alarming!
The staff were friendly and helpful, and the whole experience was very nice. I’d definitely see another show here again.

The Apollo is an incredible venue. Because it is small and acoustically well-​endowed, there is not a bad seat in the house — even at on the top tier and mezzanine levels. And, they have seats on the stage itself, which is absolutely awesome/​terrifying, because the actors walk up to you and legitimately have conversations with you, in character.
I’ve been to the Apollo a few times to watch various plays, generally sitting in the ‘nosebleed’ mezzanine seats, but have never had an issue with visibility or audibility of what’s happening on the stage (which is the mark of a good theatre, if you ask me).
Last night, though, was a truly special experience — I watched Mark Rylance from about three feet away, as I scored first-​level box seats at the very last minute. As many may know, when the Apollo has a ‘sellout’ show, it is not actually sold out, as the theatre reserves approximately 20 seats for purchase on the day of the show. These tickets are £10. They are the best way you will ever spend £10…ever. However, these magical £10 tickets come at the additional, steep price of having to wake up at the crack of dawn and queue outside of the theatre until the box office opens at 10am. I went at 7:15am and was the second to last person to get seats.
The rules of same day ticket purchases are as follows:
1) Cash only
2) Limit two per person
3) No ‘waiting there for ages as a placeholder and having a million of your friends turn up at 10 on the dot and cut in front of everyone else and steal all of the tickets,“
4) No repeating these rules to anyone else, lest you reveal the secret (oops)
Bring a book, a cup of coffee, and a blanket, and you’ll be fine. Break the rules, and you’ll be shanked.
Most importantly, enjoy the show!

Comfortable, good show (Richard III). Not cramped like some theatres (esp NYC).

I saw Madness of King George III here. The show itself was top notch.
If you are into old Victorian theatres, you’ll dig this place. You know it has history because the first balcony (I was in the front row, stage left) tilts not-​so-​subtily to the right. One of those things estate agents call ‘character’. And this place does have it, as it dates to 1901, so even though by London standards its not that old, it is (but in a good way).
The nice thing that this theatre did is that our show wasn’t sold out (we had purchased affodable seats on an upper balcony), but they moved everyone forward so that we had better seats since more expensive ones weren’t full. A ‘free upgrade’ if you will. That’s pretty cool and I wish more venues did this.

Gorgious! We saw The madness of George the Third and it was really good. The theatre looks ancient but it is not highbrow but everything is extremely informal. We had a balcony seat and we had to use the side-​entrance to get there and climb and climb The view was still fine and the play was great.

A traditional London theatre, this. Old school décor, with statues, red velvet, ornate balconies and boxes. Somewhere to take the out of town tourist to impress them.
They also appear to feature some exeptional shows too. It’s a fair bet that you’ll enjoy what you see here. I did. Jerusalem blew me away.
There are so many theatre options in London that it’s rare to find a theatre that you’d consider going to without knowing to much about the show., I think I’ve found that with the Apollo.

The balcony seats are a JOKE. I literally could not see the stage from my seat in balcony row A. DO NOT BOOK THE BALCONY. I love Arthur Miller and I feel robbed of the experience because of my terrible, terrible seat. They should not sell seats that bad. I would have picked a different seat if I had known it was that bad.

I heart the Apollo, plain and simple. I work minutes away, so it’s easy to join the early morning queue for £10 front row seats.
The line for Jerusalem (one of the most popular plays on in the West End of the past few years) was so long that to get a spot you needed to join it 5am. Blimey. BUT. We got the tickets! The front row is an amazing experience, and it was totally worth the early start. You can only buy for the same day, and there are usually only 20 tickets, but it’s a great way to get to the theatre on a shoestring.
Obviously the lines are shorter for plays without so much hype, so just gauge it on how much you want to go — and how many good reviews you’ve read ;)
For All my Sons, we even managed to get a box for £20. The view was slightly obscured (they were restricted view tickets), but it was still well worth it. I love seeing plays from different parts of the theatre, so it was great for me.
Standard fare on high-​priced drinks & food, but hey, when there’s a good show on — you can always wait and pop up to Old Compton Street for a cocktail afterwards :)

Just saw «ALL MY SONS» which in an of itself wonderful, and I can recommend to everybody — acting, message, staging, etc. was all great. Having been to many theatres in London this one was one of the best with it feeling intimate. We sat near the back of the «stalls» (we would call orchestra) in row N on the right side and had a great view of the stage and certainly not feeling in the nose bleed section. The bar and restrooms where pretty spacious and all the staff were very helpful. The only criticism is that the seats are a bit small (comparable to most London theatres) and leg room lacking especially for somebody 6 feet tall. The definite plus is that the theatre has an aisle running down the middle (which is rare for theatres that size) which helps avoid the up and down of letting folks into the center. All around a wonderful theatre made even better with an exceptional play.

Had the good fortune of seeing Arthur Miller’s «ALL MY SONS» at Apollo Theatre. It wasn’t a Play I originally wanted to see but the only one to fit into my schedule — boy did I end up a lucky girl… it was INCREDIBLE!
With a cast including: David Suchet (aka, Hercule Poirot), Zoe Wanamaker (from Harry Potter), Stephen Campbell Moore, & Jemima Rooper (from Lost In Austen) I was completely mesmerised by the story they weaved & left totally & completely impressed
The theatre on the other hand… thinking I had scored great seats, was sad to find I was located in the 2^nd row from the back. Seats were extremely cramped & views of the stage were nonexistent. Only saving grace was that this was not a sold out show & the people beside me relocated so I could weave & lean around others throughout the Play… otherwise, I’d have seen *nothing*
Sound was adequate — I’ll give them that. As a venue, this theatre was Meh-​OK. As a Play — this was as Good As It Gets!
See this Play before it ends — but make sure you get good seats!

From 18^th June 2009– showing a new production of Carrie’s War starring Prunella Scales and Kasey Ainsworth (ex Eastender Little Mo).
I would definately recconmend this play for an uplifting evening of innocent, charming, story-​telling.
Set during the second world war it tells the tale of Carrie and her brother’s experiences of evacuation to the Welsh Valley’s. The atmosphere and period is well-​created, the perfomances are all excellent and because it is an adaptation of a children’s story, it is light-​hearted and amusing whilst still having a plot which is mildy spooky and involving for adults.
If you hunt around on the internet there are various publications (Timeout was) giving away free tickets but you can get good seats in the Apollo from about £10.
It was a lovely night and would be great for young teenagers and children to get them into plays. My one criticism was that it was a bit long, the first half imparticular, but this was only a minor point in what was otherwise a thoroughly charming performance.

I was lucky enough to see Rain Man at the Apollo Theater. The oh so hot Josh Hartnett played the Tom Cruise character… my friends made fun of me for actually gasping when he took off his shirt. But even regardless of Josh’s hotness this show was awesome!
As for the theater it’s small and cozy. I believe we were also lucky enough to score the best seats in the house (row 0, seats 7 – 9). The bathroom lines were short and you can eat/​drink in the theater. My type of theater!

The Apollo Theatre in Shaftesbury avenue is decorated in an old fashioned manner and has the accounstics of an old school theatre. I haven’t visited the theatre in a few years but went to watch Rain Man which is currently showing there. Some reviews have been negative but I really can’t understand why. Rain Man is well acted, particularly considering this is Josh Hartnetts first play — a bold move for a film star who could be doing easier and better paid work. It is also touching and very funny. The sets are well designed, the dialogue well written and Adam Godley as Raymond (Rain Man) is brilliant.
As an added bonus if you are a straight female (or gay male) fan of Hartnett, he takes his shirt off during the course of the play and shows us men the body we could have if we bothered to work out. One woman, obviously there for Hartnett’s presence said Oh My God, out loud when he took his shirt off which was an added comic bonus.
Although going to the theatre is expensive and often a hassle thanks to unreliable transport, there is something indescribably fun about seeing people on stage. I think Rain Man would be an excellent introduction to the theatre for someone who doesn’t go regularly or has never been at all.

The Apollo is smaller than most Theatreland venues, a really old-​fashioned theatre with narrow corridors and an intimate feel, thus it usually stages plays rather than musicals. The current show is Noël Coward’s ‘The Vortex’, starring Felicity Kendall and Dan Stevens, which I really loved.
I booked weekday tickets via
on a ‘best available’ basis. We didn’t know until we got there that our £20 seats were actually front row centre. Not brilliant for big shows, but fantastic when you’re there to ogle the talent (me, never!). The stalls are small, so even seats right at the back are good. They’re also a bit smaller and older than some, but there’s more leg room than at a lot of the newer or more recently refurbished theatres.
Make sure you look up when you’re seated — the ceiling decoration is amazing and the boxes really beautiful.

The Apollo is a reasonably intimate venue — the almost baroque interior seems recently restored, and the furniture and paintwork has been touched up. The bar, the American Airlines Bar, is pretty crammed — stuck downstairs in a stale-​smelling basement. And the sponsorship by AA (the Easyjet of transatlantic flying) is not exactly glamorous: better get a drink elsewhere.
The seating is not particularly comfortable but there is at least some leg room (in the Stalls seats). A welcome innovation is a central aisle which makes access to seats in the middle of a row much easier.