New Theatre Oxford

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The New Theatre Oxford (for a period from 1977 known as the Apollo Theatre Oxford) is the main commercial theatre in Oxford, England and has a capacity of 1,800 people. It is located in George Street in the centre of the city, and puts on a wide variety of shows, from musical theatre (Annie, West Side Story, and Chicago) to stand-up comedy (Ross Noble, Jimmy Carr, Joe Pasquale, French and Saunders and Ricky Gervais) to gigs (Status Quo, Elkie Brooks, Rufus Wainwright, Motörhead and Mcfly).

The first "New Theatre" on this site opened in 1836 and presented music hall entertainment. This was replaced in 1886 by new premises which were the home of Oxford University Dramatic Society. The theatre was damaged by fire in 1892 and enlarged in 1908, from which date until 1972 the New Theatre was continuously under the management of the Dorrill family.

The present building dates from 1933 and was designed by Milburn Brothers with an art deco interior by T.P. Bennet and Sons.^[1] The colour scheme was originally in shades of deep brown with gilt friezes but in later years (circa 1980?) a multi-colour scheme was introduced, which did not reflect the original design.