The Ambassador Theatre Group: About Us: Introduction

The Ambassador Theatre Group

Co-founded by Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire in 1992, the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) is currently the largest theatre group in the West End and separately, the second largest in the UK regions, with a total of 24 venues. ATG is also one of the country's foremost theatre producers and has been behind some of the most successful and innovative productions in Britain and internationally.

ATG's impressive portfolio of West End theatres include high profile and historic buildings such as the Comedy, Donmar Warehouse, Duke of York's, Fortune, New Ambassadors, Phoenix, Piccadilly, Playhouse and Savoy (both co-ownership and management of) and the two new venues at Trafalgar Studios. ATG's regional theatres include The Ambassadors Woking encompassing the New Victoria and Rhoda McGaw Theatres and a 6 screen cinema complex; the Theatre Royal, Brighton; the Victoria Concert Hall, Stoke-on-Trent; the Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent; Milton Keynes Theatre; the Churchill Theatre in Bromley; Richmond Theatre, Surrey; the King's Theatre, Glasgow; the Theatre Royal, Glasgow; the New Wimbledon Theatre and the New Wimbledon Studio, London.

Current and recent ATG co-productions include the new musical production of The Gerswins' Porgy and Bess directed by Trevor Nunn at the Savoy Theatre; Michael Grandage's hit production of Guys and Dolls starring Don Johnson, Claire Sweeney, Ben Richards and Lisa Stokke at the Piccadilly Theatre; Stephen Sondheim's Company on Broadway; The New Statesman starring Rik Mayall (UK Tour and West End season, currently at Trafalgar Studio 1, London); The Rocky Horror Show starring David Bedella (UK tour and West End season, currently at the Comedy Theatre, London); Sweeney Todd (a hit on Broadway with Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris, in the West End and on UK tour); Matthew Bourne's Highland Fling (in London and on UK tour); The Witches starring Ruby Wax (in the West End and on UK tour); Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker! (two London seasons, as well as UK and worldwide tours); Stephen Poliakoff's Sweet Panic starring Jane Horrocks and Victoria Hamilton; Shared Experience's After Mrs Rochester; Edward Hall's A Midsummer Night's Dream; Richard Eyre's and the Royal National Theatre's multi-award winner Vincent in Brixton (in the West End, on Broadway and on UK tour); Noises Off (a co-production with the Royal National Theatre) in the West End and on Broadway); The Master Builder starring Patrick Stewart; Christopher Hampton's new version of Three Sisters starring Kristin Scott Thomas; Tom Courtenay in Pretending To Be Me; Gershwin's My One and Only; The Mystery of Charles Dickens starring Simon Callow in the West End and on Broadway; a co-production of Doctor Faustus at The Young Vic starring Jude Law; Shockheaded Peter in the West End and the first major West End revival and Broadway production of Peter Nichols' classic A Day in the Death of Joe Egg starring Eddie Izzard, Victoria Hamilton and Prunella Scales; Caryl Churchill's Far Away, directed by Stephen Daldry, plus the Royal Court Theatre production of Mouth to Mouth in the West End.

Other ATG successes include the co-production of The Weir (winner of the 1999 Olivier Award for Best New Play) in the West End and on Broadway, Smokey Joe's Café in the West End and the Olivier award-winning Slava's Snowshow in the West End and North America plus the multi award-winning West End musical, Carmen Jones.

ATG also has a series of creative alliances, based in theatre, but with the potential to form a bridge between media. These unique initiatives include a film co-production company with Trademark Films, makers of Shakespeare in Love, and a TV company ScreenStage, with ITV plc, which has made five TV films to date. ScreenStage also co-produced The Play's The Thing for Channel 4. In addition, ATG has formed a co-producing alliance with the acclaimed Young Vic Theatre Company.

ATG has a wholly owned subsidiary company Sonia Friedman Productions, led by producer Sonia Friedman, whose current co-productions include Boeing Boeing starring Roger Allam, Frances de la Tour, Mark Rylance and Tamzin Outhwaite at the Comedy Theatre and The Dumb Waiter starring Lee Evans and Jason Issacs at the Trafalgar Studios. Previous SFP productions include Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Woman in White in the West End and on Broadway; Faith Healer starring Ralph Fiennes on Broadway; Rock'n'Roll, the new Tom Stoppard play; Love Song starring Neve Campbell, Kristen Johnson, Michael McKean and Cillian Murphy; the revival of Michael Frayn's Donkeys' Years; Bent starring Alan Cumming; On The Third Day, the winning play from the C4 series The Play's The Thing; Endgame with Michael Gambon and Lee Evans; See You Next Tuesday with Ardal O'Hanlon and Nigel Havers; Sexual Perversity in Chicago with Matthew Perry and Minnie Driver; Franco Zefferelli's Absolutely! (perhaps) with Joan Plowright; Ragtime; Macbeth with Sean Bean; Up For Grabs with Madonna and On An Average Day with Woody Harrelson and Kyle McLachlan, all in London.

ATG has also formed a joint major new national pantomime company with Live Nation, First Family Entertainment. Currently in its third year, the company is producing 10 high quality pantomimes for the 2007/2008 Christmas season.

Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker!

MacBeth

The Rocky Horror Show

On an Average Day