Ambassadors Theatre
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| Ambassadors Theatre | |
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| The Ambassadors Theatre (April 2007) | |
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| Address | |
| City | |
| Designation | Grade II |
| Architect | W. G. R. Sprague |
| Owned by | Stephen Waley-Cohen |
| Capacity | 444 |
| Type | West End theatre |
| Opened | 5 June 1913 |
| Previous names | 1999 New Ambassadors |
| Production | Stomp |
| www.theambassadorstheatre.co.uk | |
| Coordinates: | |
The Ambassadors Theatre (formerly the New Ambassadors Theatre), is a West End theatre located in West Street, near Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster.
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[edit] History
The theatre was, along with the adjacent St Martin's 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.[1]
[edit] New Ambassadors era
In 1996, the venue was bought out by the Ambassador Theatre Group, the largest operator of theatres in the West End, who renamed the venue, the New Ambassadors, and proclaimed it as a venue for brand new niche works and plays. That brief did not last very long, with the theatre quickly reverting back to commercial West End usage, despite its exterior makeover of purple and green neon.
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 premiere 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.
[edit] Revival of Ambassadors era
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).
On Wednesday, 4 April 2007, it was announced that ATG had sold the venue to Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen, who has with immediate effect renamed the venue The Ambassadors as it once was. He plans to refurbish the exterior of the theatre after Whipping it Up finishes its run in June. There is also speculation that he may move his production of The Mousetrap, the longest running show in the world, back to its original home at the theatre and out of the St Martin's Theatre next door, which he also owns.
[edit] Selected 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 LaBute
- Guantanamo: Honour Bound to Defend Freedom (23 June 2004 - 4 September 2004) by Victoria Brittain and Gillian Slovo
- Sweeney Todd (13 October 2004 - 5 February 2005) by Stephen Sondheim
- 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 McGuinness
- Telstar (24 June 2005 - 10 September 2005) by Nick Moran and James Hick
- Journey's End (22 September 2005 - 28 January 2006) by R.C. Sherriff
- Hamlet (20 February 2006 - 22 April 2006) by William Shakespeare, starring Ed Stoppard and Anita Dobson
- On the Third Day (22 June 2006 - 29 July 2006) by Kate Betts
- Waiting for Godot (September 2006 - November 2006) by Samuel Beckett
- 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 Bathurst
- Little Shop of Horrors (29 June 2007 - 8 September 2007) by Alan Menken, starring Sheridan Smith and Alistair McGowan
- Stomp (27 September 2007 - ) by Steve McNicholas and Luke Cresswell
[edit] Nearby Tube stations
[edit] References
- ^ English Heritage listing details accessed 28 April 2007
- Guide to British Theatres 1750-1950, John Earl and Michael Sell pp. 98 (Theatres Trust, 2000) ISBN 0-7136-5688-3
