The Apollo Theatre is a member of the Little Theatres Guild of Great Britain (LTG). The building was originally a tiny Methodist chapel in Newport, Isle of Wight, which was bought in 1970 and converted by a team of dedicated volunteers under the inspired leadership of John Hancock, whose idea the whole thing was and without whose commitment and enthusiasm we wouldn’t be what we are now – the Island’s premier little theatre. The first productions were put on the Apollo stage in 1972 – and what a long way we’ve come since then!
​
Every year we put on a season of seven shows plus ‘one-off’ productions such as ‘music halls’, Christmas shows, plays by visiting and local dramatists, concerts and so on. The Arts Manager decides the season, which runs from September to July. Our programming policy aim is to involve and appeal to as many people in the community as we can. A variety of plays are chosen to offer roles to all age groups, encourage technical ideas, bring in new audiences, appeal to regular patrons as well as giving opportunities and support to inexperienced actors, crew and directors. Consideration is given to performing plays that support the school curriculum, either from adapted novels for Key Stage 3 English, or for GCSE/A Level Theatre Studies. We rarely select plays that can be seen at other venues in the county (IW) so as to provide our community with as much choice as possible. We have recently been successful in recruiting many new members of all ages after adopting an open audition policy for all our plays for this season. These new members range in age from 8 years – 70 years. We have also actively encouraged new crew members, ages range from 14 years – 65 years.
High points in the Apollo’s history include visits from Prince Edward, Ralph Fiennes and from Island boy the late Anthony Minghella (who also acted upon our stage) and was one of our patrons. The purchase of the building next door enabled us to transform the downstairs into our Theatre Bar and create a rehearsal space and also help house our ever-expanding collection of props. We are constantly investing in the building and its facilities, and have a tiny but comfortable auditorium (with seats originally saved from Shanklin cinema!).
Discover more about the Apollo's history here
