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     New Ambassadors Theatre - Information & History
The New Ambassadors Theatre opened originally called The Ambassadors Theatre on the 5th June 1913 with a production of 'Panthea' by Monckton Hoffe. The Architect W.G.R. Sprague originally designed to construct 2 theatres side by side, but the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 put a temporary stop to that idea and the second theatre St.Martins wasn't started until 3 years later in 1916.
Because of the delay in the construction of the second theatre, the Ambassadors Theatre had to be lower so as to not fall foul of the 'ancient lights' laws. This controlled the blocking of light on adjacent buildings, particularly the building prior to St.Martins, which was lower, hence the Ambassadors stalls are below ground level.
Upon the Ambassadors Theatre opening it was said in stage magazines of the day that the Ambassadors Theatre's general decoration is in the style of the French king Louis XVI with a warm colour scheme of Parma violet, ivory and dulled gold. The Auditorium consists of stalls, a roomy pit, dress circle, family circle, and upper boxes all sufficiently raised to form another circle. The single balcony is horse shoe shaped and only a few steps up from ground level whilst the stalls are under street level.
The Ambassadors Theatre is a small theatre offering a very intimate atmosphere. The Ambassadors Theatre is situated opposite one of London's exclusive restaurants, The Ivy, which is renowned as a favourite haunt for the theatrical elite and celebrities.
The Ambassadors Theatre was said by Charles B.Cochran to be an ideal venue offering an intimate ambience and ideally suited for miniature revues and performances. The Ambassadors Theatre continued throughout the Second World War. Without doubt the most famous production staged at the Ambassadors Theatre has to be the 'Who Dun it' production of the 'Mousetrap'. This premiered at the Ambassadors Theatre for the first time on the 25th of November 1952, starring Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim, and ran for a staggering 22 years at the Ambassador before transferring to St Martins Theatre in 1974, where it is still going strong. The 'Mousetrap' is the World's longest running play and passed its 54th consecutive year in 2006. A fantastic achievement for what was considered to be an average production at the time.
The 'Mousetrap' became a must see tourist play and put the Ambassadors Theatre firmly on the map. Its allure and intimate charm must also have added to the attraction. The New Ambassadors Theatre, renamed in 1999, has enjoyed numerous other successes, including the Royal Shakespeare's hit production of 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' in the 80's.
The New Ambassadors Theatre has become the only commercial West End Theatre currently producing its own work and presenting limited seasons throughout the year from some of the country's best and most exciting companies, writers and artists.
Some of the most notable productions staged at the new Ambassadors include: Drummers; Last Dance At Dum Dum; Mark Ravenhill's Some Explicit Polariods; Shared Experience's Mother Courage; Jane Eyre; A Doll's House and Mill on the Floss; Speed-the-Plow by David Mamet; the award-winning Spoonface Steinberg; the highly acclaimed Stones in His Pockets; Krapp's Last Tape starring John Hurt; Charlottes Jones' In Flame; Conor McPherson's Port Authority; The Vagina Monologues; Boston Marriage by David Mamet, starring Zoe Wanamaker; A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, starring Clive Owen, Victoria Hamilton and Prunella Scales; Marc Salem's Mind Games; Marion and Geoff; Ed Byrne; One for the Road written by and starring Harold Pinter and Maria Friedman; Lee Hall's new version of A Servant to Two Masters; the Donmar Warehouse production of Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero; and The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband starring Alison Steadman and Daisy Donovan.
The New Ambassadors Theatre is quaint and still carries that intimate ambience which is sadly lost with the large auditoriums.
Ambassadors Theatre | Performances | Information | Directions | History
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