New Ambassadors Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Ambassadors Theatre is a West End theatre
located in West Street, near Cambridge Circus
on the Charing Cross Road
in the City of Westminster
. It is one of the smallest of the West End
theatres, seating a maximum of 195 people in the Dress Circle
and 251 in the Stalls
.
conceived by their architect, W. G. R. Sprague
, as companions, born at the same time in 1913, but World War I
interrupted the construction of the latter for three years. The Ambassadors was built with the intention of being an intimate, smaller theatre and is situated opposite the renowned restaurant the Ivy
, favourite haunt of the theatrical elite.
The theatre was Grade II listed by English Heritage
in March 1973.
, now the largest operator of theatres in the West End. It was first split into two small spaces (by creating a false floor at circle level) and used by the Royal Court
. Then in 1999 the venue was renamed the New Ambassadors and hosted niche works and plays not normally seen outside of smaller fringe venues. However within a few years the theatre had largely reverted to playing material seen as more commercially viable for its location in the West End
.
made her West End
debut in the Ambassadors, starring in The Mask of Virtue (1935); this was the play in which Lawrence Olivier first saw her perform.
The theatre's most famous production is Agatha Christie
's The Mousetrap
which showed from 1952-1974 before moving next door to the St Martin's Theatre
where it is still running.
After its purchase by the Ambassador Theatre Group
under producer Sonia Friedman
, productions included Some Explicit Polaroids by Mark Ravenhill
, Spoonface Steinberg
by Lee Hall
, Krapp's Last Tape
by Samuel Beckett
and starring John Hurt
, and was the West End's first home of Marie Jones
' Stones In His Pockets
and The Vagina Monologues
by Eve Ensler
.
Recent productions have included the multi-award winning production of John Doyle's Sweeney Todd
which subsequently transferred to Broadway, Ying Tong - A Walk with the Goons, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, Journey's End and the world première of Kate Betts' On the Third Day which won the Channel 4
television series The Play's the Thing. In 2006, the theatre played host to the landmark revival of Peter Hall's production of Waiting for Godot
which ran for a strictly limited autumn season.
The theatre is currently home to the continuing London run of Stomp
having transferred from the Vaudeville Theatre
on 27 September 2007, following the successful Menier Chocolate Factory
production of Little Shop of Horrors
. Other recent productions have included runs of the Bush Theatre's production of Whipping it Up, starring Richard Wilson and Robert Bathurst
, and Love Song, starring Cillian Murphy
and Neve Campbell
(November 2006 to February 2007).
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
located in West Street, near Cambridge Circus
Cambridge Circus
Cambridge Circus may be a reference to:* Cambridge Circus , a group of economists who worked with John Maynard Keynes* Cambridge Circus, London, the junction of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road in London...
on the Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus and then becomes Tottenham Court Road...
in the City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
. It is one of the smallest of the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
theatres, seating a maximum of 195 people in the Dress Circle
Theater (structure)
A theater or theatre is a structure where theatrical works or plays are performed or other performances such as musical concerts may be produced. While a theater is not required for performance , a theater serves to define the performance and audience spaces...
and 251 in the Stalls
Theater (structure)
A theater or theatre is a structure where theatrical works or plays are performed or other performances such as musical concerts may be produced. While a theater is not required for performance , a theater serves to define the performance and audience spaces...
.
History
The theatre was, along with the adjacent St Martin'sSt Martin's Theatre
St Martin's Theatre is a West End theatre, located in West Street, near Charing Cross Road, in the London Borough of Camden. It was designed as one of a pair of theatres with the Ambassadors Theatre by W.G.R...
conceived by their architect, W. G. R. Sprague
W. G. R. Sprague
W. G. R. Sprague was a theatre architect in the grand age.Born in Australia, the son of actress Dolores Drummond who returned with acclaim to London in 1874. Sprague was articled to Frank Matcham for four years, then in 1880 to Walter Emden for three years; and then in partnershp with Bertie Crewe...
, as companions, born at the same time in 1913, but World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
interrupted the construction of the latter for three years. The Ambassadors was built with the intention of being an intimate, smaller theatre and is situated opposite the renowned restaurant the Ivy
The Ivy
The Ivy is a restaurant in West Street, near Covent Garden in London. It opened in 1917 and is popular with celebrities and theatre goers. In 2000, the restaurant was awarded the Moët & Chandon London Restaurant Award for excellence....
, favourite haunt of the theatrical elite.
The theatre was Grade II listed by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
in March 1973.
New Ambassadors era
In 1996, the venue was bought out by its namesake the Ambassador Theatre GroupAmbassador Theatre Group
The Ambassador Theatre Group is an independent operator of theatres in the United Kingdom. Formed in 1992, by Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire,OBE, it acquired the Live Nation theatre group in November 2009.-List of theatres:...
, now the largest operator of theatres in the West End. It was first split into two small spaces (by creating a false floor at circle level) and used by the Royal Court
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
. Then in 1999 the venue was renamed the New Ambassadors and hosted niche works and plays not normally seen outside of smaller fringe venues. However within a few years the theatre had largely reverted to playing material seen as more commercially viable for its location in the West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
.
Revival of Ambassadors era
On Wednesday, 4 April 2007, it was announced that ATG had sold the venue to Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen, who renamed the venue The Ambassadors as it once was, and began an extensive programme of refurbishments.Productions
Vivien LeighVivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
made her West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
debut in the Ambassadors, starring in The Mask of Virtue (1935); this was the play in which Lawrence Olivier first saw her perform.
The theatre's most famous production is Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's The Mousetrap
The Mousetrap
The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The Mousetrap opened in the West End of London in 1952, and has been running continuously since then. It has the longest initial run of any play in history, with over 24,500 performances so far. It is the longest running show of the modern...
which showed from 1952-1974 before moving next door to the St Martin's Theatre
St Martin's Theatre
St Martin's Theatre is a West End theatre, located in West Street, near Charing Cross Road, in the London Borough of Camden. It was designed as one of a pair of theatres with the Ambassadors Theatre by W.G.R...
where it is still running.
After its purchase by the Ambassador Theatre Group
Ambassador Theatre Group
The Ambassador Theatre Group is an independent operator of theatres in the United Kingdom. Formed in 1992, by Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire,OBE, it acquired the Live Nation theatre group in November 2009.-List of theatres:...
under producer Sonia Friedman
Sonia Friedman
Sonia Friedman is a prolific British West End and Broadway theatre producer. She is the younger sister of actress Maria Friedman.-Biography and career:...
, productions included Some Explicit Polaroids by Mark Ravenhill
Mark Ravenhill
Mark Ravenhill is an English playwright, actor and journalist.His most famous plays include Shopping and Fucking , Some Explicit Polaroids and Mother Clap's Molly House . He made his acting debut in his monologue Product, at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe...
, Spoonface Steinberg
Spoonface Steinberg
Spoonface Steinberg is a play by British playwright Lee Hall, first broadcast as a dramatic monologue on 27 January 1997.It began life as the fourth and final play in the God's Country series of linked radio dramas broadcast in 1997 on BBC Radio 4...
by Lee Hall
Lee Hall (playwright)
Lee Hall is an English playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for the 2000 film Billy Elliot.-Early life:...
, Krapp's Last Tape
Krapp's Last Tape
Krapp's Last Tape is a one-act play, written in English, by Samuel Beckett. Consisting of a cast of one man, it was originally written for Northern Irish actor Patrick Magee and first titled "Magee monologue"...
by Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
and starring John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
, and was the West End's first home of Marie Jones
Marie Jones
Sarah Marie Jones is a Belfast-based actress and playwright. Born into a working class family, Jones was an actress for several years before turning her hand to writing.-Charabanc/DubbelJoint:...
' Stones In His Pockets
Stones in His Pockets
Stones in His Pockets is a two-hander written in 1996 by Marie Jones for the DubbleJoint Theatre Company in Dublin, Ireland.-Plot summary:...
and The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler which ran at the Off Broadway Westside Theatre after a limited run at AFRICA in 1996. Ensler originally starred in the production which was produced by David Stone, Nina Essman, Dan Markley, The Araca Group, Willa Shalit, Mike Skipper...
by Eve Ensler
Eve Ensler
Eve Ensler is an American playwright, performer, feminist and activist, best known for her play The Vagina Monologues.- Personal life :...
.
Recent productions have included the multi-award winning production of John Doyle's Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
which subsequently transferred to Broadway, Ying Tong - A Walk with the Goons, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, Journey's End and the world première of Kate Betts' On the Third Day which won the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
television series The Play's the Thing. In 2006, the theatre played host to the landmark revival of Peter Hall's production of Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's...
which ran for a strictly limited autumn season.
The theatre is currently home to the continuing London run of Stomp
Stomp (dance troupe)
Stomp is a percussion group that uses the body and ordinary objects to create a physical theatre performance.-History and performances:...
having transferred from the Vaudeville Theatre
Vaudeville Theatre
The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...
on 27 September 2007, following the successful Menier Chocolate Factory
Menier Chocolate Factory
The Menier Chocolate Factory is an award-winning 180 seat fringe studio theatre, restaurant and gallery. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory in Southwark Street, a major street in the London Borough of Southwark, central south London, England. The theatre stages plays...
production of Little Shop of Horrors
Little Shop of Horrors (musical)
Little Shop of Horrors is a rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman...
. Other recent productions have included runs of the Bush Theatre's production of Whipping it Up, starring Richard Wilson and Robert Bathurst
Robert Bathurst
Robert Guy Bathurst is an English actor. Bathurst was born in the Gold Coast in 1957, where his father was working as a management consultant. His family moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1959 and Bathurst was enrolled at an Anglican boarding school...
, and Love Song, starring Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy is an Irish film and theatre actor. He is often noted by critics for his chameleonic performances in diverse roles and distinctive blue eyes and general sex appeal....
and Neve Campbell
Neve Campbell
Neve Adrianne Campbell is a Canadian actress. After beginning her career on stage, and on numerous commercials, she starred on the Canadian television series Catwalk. She then rose to international fame on the Golden Globe-winning 1990s television series Party of Five, playing the role of teenager...
(November 2006 to February 2007).
List of recent productions
- Stones in his Pockets (21 July 2003 - 1 May 2004) by Marie Jones
- The Shape of Things (17 May 2004 - 12 June 2005) by Neil LaButeNeil LaButeNeil N. LaBute is an American film director, screenwriter and playwright.-Early life:LaBute was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Marian, a hospital receptionist, and Richard LaBute, a long-haul truck driver. LaBute is of French Canadian, English and Irish ancestry, and was raised in Spokane,...
- Guantanamo: Honour Bound to Defend Freedom (23 June 2004 - 4 September 2004) by Victoria Brittain and Gillian Slovo
- Sweeney ToddSweeney Todd (musical)Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1979 musical thriller with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and libretto by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is based on the 1973 play Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Bond....
(13 October 2004 - 5 February 2005) by Stephen SondheimStephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award... - Ying Tong: A Walk with The Goons (14 February 2005 - 19 March 2005) by Roy Smiles
- Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (19 April 2005 - 18 June 2005) by Frank McGuinnessFrank McGuinnessProfessor Frank McGuinness is an award-winning Irish playwright and poet. As well as his own works, which include Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, he is recognised for a "strong record of adapting literary classics, having translated the plays of Racine, Sophocles, Ibsen and...
- TelstarTelstar (film)Telstar is a film adaptation of James Hicks' play of the same name. It stars Con O'Neill as Joe Meek and Kevin Spacey as Meek's business advisor, Major Banks...
(24 June 2005 - 10 September 2005) by Nick Moran and James Hick - Journey's EndJourney's EndJourney's End is a 1928 drama, the seventh of English playwright R. C. Sherriff. It was first performed at the Apollo Theatre in London by the Incorporated Stage Society on 9 December 1928, starring a young Laurence Olivier, and soon moved to other West End theatres for a two-year run...
(22 September 2005 - 28 January 2006) by R.C. Sherriff - HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
(20 February 2006 - 22 April 2006) by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, starring Ed Stoppard and Anita DobsonAnita DobsonAnita Dobson is an English television actress and singer. She gained her highest profile while playing Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders... - On the Third Day (22 June 2006 - 29 July 2006) by Kate Betts
- Waiting for GodotWaiting for GodotWaiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's...
(September 2006 - November 2006) by Samuel BeckettSamuel BeckettSamuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most... - Love Song (24 November 2006 - 24 February 2007) by John Kolvenbach
- Whipping it Up (22 February 2007 - 16 June 2007) by Steve Thompson, starring Richard Wilson and Robert BathurstRobert BathurstRobert Guy Bathurst is an English actor. Bathurst was born in the Gold Coast in 1957, where his father was working as a management consultant. His family moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1959 and Bathurst was enrolled at an Anglican boarding school...
- Little Shop of HorrorsLittle Shop of Horrors (musical)Little Shop of Horrors is a rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman...
(29 June 2007 - 8 September 2007) by Alan MenkenAlan MenkenAlan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist.Menken is best known for his numerous scores for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas have each won him two Academy Awards...
, starring Sheridan SmithSheridan SmithSheridan Smith is an English actress and singer who is best known for her contributions to the British sitcoms Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Gavin & Stacey and Benidorm. She has also become a recognised face in West End theatre, where she has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors,...
and Alistair McGowanAlistair McGowanAlistair McGowan is a British impressionist, stand-up comic, actor, singer and writer best known to British audiences for The Big Impression , which was, for four years, one of BBC1's top-rating comedy programmes - winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003... - Stomp (27 September 2007 - ) by Steve McNicholas and Luke Cresswell
Nearby Tube stations
- Leicester SquareLeicester Square tube stationLeicester Square is a station on the London Underground, located on Charing Cross Road, a short distance to the east of Leicester Square itself....
- Covent GardenCovent Garden tube stationCovent Garden is a London Underground station in Covent Garden. It is on the Piccadilly Line between Leicester Square and Holborn. The station is a Grade II listed building, on the corner of Long Acre and James Street...