Wyvern Theatre September 2006, it closed temporarily after the discovery of traces of asbestos in the venue's offices and roof void during a routine inspection. It remained closed until September 2007 and the closure was used to refurbish the venue, bringing new decor, bars, cafés, disabled entrances and new seating costing £1.3 million. The first performance afterwards was on 25 September 2007. Over the years The Wyvern Theatre has had its own mascot in the form of a 6-foot-high green dragon-like creature known as Willy the Wyvern. Willy the Wyvern became the theatre's mascot originally during in its founding years but faded
Wyvern modern fantasy fiction, though its first literary appearances may have been in medieval bestiaries. The wyvern is a frequent charge in English heraldry and vexillology, also occasionally appearing as a supporter or crest. A white ("Argent") wyvern formed the crest of the Borough of Leicester as recorded at the heraldic visitation of Leicestershire in 1619: "A wyvern sans legs argent strewed with wounds gules, wings expanded ermine." The term "sans legs" may not imply that the wyvern was "without legs", rather that its legs are not depicted, being hidden or folded under. This was adopted by the Midland Railway in