Press Releases

AMBASSADOR THEATRE GROUP AND TULBART LLC BUY THE SAVOY THEATRE

Issued : 12 October 2005

Quinlan Private, on behalf of a group of investors, and the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) with the Tulbart Group (Ted and Norman Tulchin and Robert Bartner) have announced that contracts have been exchanged for the joint purchase of the Savoy Theatre by ATG and the Tulbart Group from West One.

The acquisition will also see the transfer of management of the theatre to ATG from Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen. The 1200-seat Savoy Theatre, just off The Strand, becomes ATG’s 24th UK venue, including 11 theatres in the West End.

The early years of the Savoy Theatre were associated with Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Later successes included Agatha Christie’s The Spider’s Web with Margaret Lockwood, which enjoyed a two-year run. In 1982, Michael Frayn’s classic farce Noises Off opened at the Savoy, spending four years as a smash hit at the venue. In recent years, Gilbert and Sullivan operettas have once again been staged at the theatre, including hit productions of HMS Pinafore, The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance and Yeomen of the Guard.

The first theatre on the current site was designed by CJ Phipps and opened on the 10th October 1881. Both the theatre and hotel (built in 1889) were financed by Richard D’Oyly Carte from the profits of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas. Interestingly, the Savoy Theatre became the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity. After a major fire in February 1990, the theatre was restored back to its former art deco glory and first class customer comfort under the architect Sir William Whitfield and re-opened on the 19th July 1993. It is one of London’s most exquisite theatre delights.

Rosemary Squire, Executive Director, ATG and new President of the Society of London Theatre said:
“We are delighted to take over this beautiful and historic building and are thrilled to add a larger venue to complement our other West End theatres. We continue to enjoy fantastic success with Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly, a similar size venue, and we look forward to producing more musicals in the future from our larger theatres such as the Savoy.”

Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen said:
"We have had an interesting eight years managing the Savoy Theatre, during which there have been a wide variety of productions, including Gilbert & Sullivan operettas; comedies, musicals and plays; Mozart and Rossini opera; the Pet Shop Boys and currently The Rat Pack. We wish the new owners every success."

ENDS
Notes for editors:
Ambassador Theatre Group
ATG is currently the second largest theatre owning and operating group both in the West End and, separately, in the UK regions, with a total of 24 venues. ATG is also one of the country’s foremost theatre producers, staging many highly successful, award-winning and innovative co-productions in Britain and internationally, including the new West End hit musical production of Guys and Dolls starring Ewan McGregor, Three Sisters starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Sweeney Todd in London and about to open on Broadway, Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! and worldwide The Rocky Horror Show. ATG also has a joint venture TV production company with ITV plc and a major new joint venture family entertainment company with Clear Channel Entertainment.

Ted and Norman Tulchin and Robert Bartner
Ted and Norman Tulchin are founding partners of Maidstone Productions and are co-owners of The Playhouse Theatre with ATG. In conjunction with Robert Bartner, they have produced The Old Masters, Whose Life Is It Anyway, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Guys and Dolls, and Sweeney Todd (all in London). They will be presenting As You Desire Me at the Playhouse Theatre in October and are about to present Sweeney Todd on Broadway. They will also be presenting A Man For All Seasons in New York this spring. Ted Tulchin serves on the Board of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts as well as New Dramatists, whose members have contributed six Pulitzer Prize awards for best play in the past 8 years. Robert Bartner serves on the board of the New York Philharmonic and The Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, CT.

For more information, please contact John Chittenden, Group Press Officer ATG, on 020 8545 7919 or email: johnchittenden@theambassadors.com

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