Hotels near Ambassadors Theatre, London

HOTELS NEAR THE AMBASSADORS THEATRE LONDON

Address:

West St

Westminster

London WC2H 9ND

United Kingdom

Closest station:

Leicester Square and Charing Cross

Hotels:

If you are searching for a hotel close to the Ambassadors Theatre then the closest, all walking distance are:

Strand Palace; Kingsway Hall; The Hampshire; St Giles Hotel 

The Ambassadors Theatre is one of the smallest in the West End, only having a capacity of 446 seats. Whilst this does mean that the larger, more spectacular shows tend to be housed elsewhere, you can get surprisingly close and intimate with the performances, and that the programming tends to be a little more diverse than the 1,500-seaters can afford to be.

The Ambassadors Theatre, like many in the West End, was designed by W.G.R Sprague at the beginning of the twentieth century. Construction of its sister theatre, St Martins Theatre was delayed for years by the intervention of the First World War, but they were eventually both completed and stand side by side.

The Ambassadors hosted the stage debut of Vivien Leigh in 1935s The Mask Of Virtue in which she was spotted by Laurence Olivier. Perhaps most famously, the Ambassadors played host to the worlds longest-running play for the first 21 years of its existence. Agatha Christies The Mousetrap opened at the Ambassadors in 1952, and remained there, breaking all sorts of West End records, until it moved next door to the St Martins Theatre in 1973.

In the late 1990s the theatre was redeveloped, and renamed The New Ambassadors Theatre. It contained two studio spaces and contained a residency from The Royal Court Upstairs. This led to a diverse programme of new and re-imagined work. Even after the Royal Courts residency ended, and the space was once again converted into one auditorium and reverted to its original name, some of the more experimental works continued to receive an airing there.

With the increasing musicalisation of the West End, however, as the only huge hits turn out to be musicals and specifically musical adaptations of films or bands work, it is unsurprising, perhaps, that The Ambassadors Theatre has, since 2007, been the London home of Stomp. Whilst it plays to the current vogue for musical spectacle, this show also has the more intimate and somewhat more challenging feel that one has come to expect from The Ambassadors. If you intend to go and see a show there, however, it is worth bearing in mind that programmes change, and that it is worth checking out what is currently playing on their website.

The closest underground station is Leicester Square, although Covent Garden and Tottenham Court Road are both within an easy walk of the theatre. Charing Cross is the nearest mainline station, and, again, is about a five to ten minute walk from the theatre. Buses include: 14, 19, 24, 29, 38, and 176. 

The Ambassadors is well worth checking out if you are looking for a slightly smaller, slightly more intimate, slightly more daring take on the West End than that offered by the largest theatres. Its interesting programming, and more bijou size offer a completely different experience from the scale that some people find so impersonal in the West Ends biggest venues. It is also situated just opposite The Ivy, so if you want to celebrity-spot, or see if you can get one of the most exclusive tables in town, you should try booking there.

With the increasing musicalisation of the West End, however, as the only huge hits turn out to be musicals and specifically musical adaptations of films or bands work, it is unsurprising, perhaps, that The Ambassadors Theatre has, since 2007, been the London home of Stomp. Whilst it plays to the current vogue for musical spectacle, this show also has the more intimate and somewhat more challenging feel that one has come to expect from The Ambassadors. If you intend to go and see a show there, however, it is worth bearing in mind that programmes change, and that it is worth checking out what is currently playing on their website.

The closest underground station is Leicester Square, although Covent Garden and Tottenham Court Road are both within an easy walk of the theatre. Charing Cross is the nearest mainline station, and, again, is about a five to ten minute walk from the theatre. Buses include: 14, 19, 24, 29, 38, and 176. 

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