Ambassadors Theatre
Venue Information
- How to book (Phone)
- 020 7395 5405
- [email protected]
- Guide dogs
- Access dogs are allowed inside the auditorium. Staff can also dog-sit for four dogs per performance in the Manager’s office.
- Wheelchairs
- Due to spatial restriction within the theatre, only wheelchair transfers can be accomodated. Patrons need to be able to transfer to one of the seats which have armrests. Staff are always available to provide assistance and will store the wheelchair in the foyer during the performance, however they will not be permitted to lift patrons.
- Sound amplification
- Sennheiser Infrared
- Audio description
- 15cm stair into foyer. Box Office to left. 26 stairs down to Stalls. 5 stairs up to Dress Circle with 3 steep stairs between rows. Staircases have highlights and handrails on both sides. Venue open 30 mins before performance.
- Street to foyer
- 1 stair
- Foyer to seat
- 26 to Stalls, 5 to circle.
- Level access
- N/A
- Lift / stair lift / ramp
- N/A
- Bars
- 2 licensed bars. Stalls bar at back of Stalls, no seats. Dress Circle bar up 11 steps with moveable seats.
- Food
- Light snacks available
- Toilets
- Female toilets are located both 19 steps down the stairs to the stalls, and also up 26 steps from the foyer. Male toilets are up a flight of 8 steps from the foyer, and 26 steps down on the stalls level. There is no adapted toilet.
- Parking
- Air conditioning
- Yes
- Accepts Theatre Tokens
- Yes
The Ambassadors Theatre was designed by W G R Sprague who designed many West End theatres including the St Martin’s situated next door.
The theatre opened on 5 June 1913 with a production of Panthea, a play by Monckton Hoffe which ran for only 15 nights. Britain’s longest running production The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie opened at The Ambassadors on 25 November 1952 and played there until its 21st birthday in 1973, when it transferred next door to the larger St Martin’s Theatre. The stalls bar of The Ambassadors currently displays a commemorative statuette, which was presented to the theatre by Agatha Christie to celebrate the play’s record-breaking run.
Following The Mousetrap the theatre welcomed a variety of shows. One of the most notable was the RSC’s hit production of Les Liasions Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton, which starred the late great Alan Rickman. In 1996 the theatre was transformed into two studio spaces to accommodate the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, which was resident until 1999. After its successful residence, the theatre was converted back to its original design and renamed the New Ambassadors Theatre.
The theatre has hosted various productions including Kate Betts’ On The Third Day, which went on to fame in the Channel 4 programme The Play’s The Thing, as well as the Menier Chocolate Factory production of Little Shop Of Horrors and Love Song, the latter of which starred Cillian Murphy.
The theatre is currently owned by the Ambassador Theatre Group.