St Martin's Theatre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
St Martin's Theatre was desgned as a pair of theatres with the New Ambassadors Theatre by W.G.R. Sprague in memorium for the 9th Baron Willoughby de Broke
Nurtured at an early age through amateur theatricals at Compton Verney, the family seat in Warwickshire, and later developed during the time he spent in London, both as an MP for Rugby, and as a member of the House of Lords. It was his intention to devote a chapter of his autobiography "The Passing Years" to Drama, but he died before it's completion. His interest was translated into action when in association with B.A.(Bertie) Meyer, who commissioned theatre architect W.G.R. Sprague to design the St Martin's. Originally intended to be one of a pair with the adjacent Ambassadors which opened in l913, the St Martin's debut was delayed by the outbreak of World War I: the first performance of Houpla took place on 23 November 1916.
Bertie Meyer, who was so closely involved in the St Martin's in the early days, ran the theatre intermittently from 1916 to 1967, when his son R.A.(Ricky) took over. Ricky was the administrator for twenty years until his retirement in 1987; he remained as a consultant until his death in 1991
Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap" transferred in March 1974 - it is still there, now holding a World Record
