Ambassadors Theatre

Address: West Street , London, WC2H 9N

Tube: Leicester Square

Architect: W.G.R. Sprague

Opened: 1916

Capacity: 414 seats

The Ambassadors originally the new Ambassador was designed to be a small intimate theatre with a seating capacity of just over four hundred, opposite the famous Ivy restaurant, which has long been associated with famous actors. The auditorium with its horseshoe shaped single balcony is a perfect venue for intimate reviews and many were staged here just after the First World War. Agatha Christie’s most famous play, The Mousetrap, started its run here with Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim. It later transferred to the sister theatre St Martin’s

In 1996, the Ambassadors was bought out by the largest theatre operators in London the Ambassador Theatre Group. It was immediately revamped, the exterior became purple and green, and it was proclaimed the home of new niche plays. However, this proved to be commercially unviable and it was forced to revert to more plays that are commercial. Sweeney Todd played here prior to Broadway, Ying Tong - A Walk with the Goons, was popular. Recently Ed Stoppard and Anita Dobson have starred in Hamlet.

Past Productions at the Ambassador’s Theatre:

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