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.