The Apollo Victoria Theatre has a heritage dating back to 1929, when it opened as a state-of-the-art cinema, commissioned by Provincial Cinematograph Theatres (PCT) to accommodate the growing popularity of ‘talking pictures’. Designed by architect Ernest Walmsley Lewis, the theatre is in an Art Deco style that is now decorated to reflect the glittering Emerald City. Upon its official opening in 1930, the Gaumont British News charmingly called the theatre interior ‘a fairy cavern under the sea, or a mermaid’s dream of heaven’. Known as the New Victoria Cinema, the building was renowned as a place to watch film, big band and variety performances, all within walking distance of the bustling Victoria station. In February 2006, Wicked moved into the theatre, opening in September to rapturous praise and overwhelming commercial success. Wicked continues to be a hugely popular hit, showing little signs of slowing down for the foreseeable future.