About St Martin's Theatre

St Martin's opened on 23 November 1916. Its architect, W. G. R. Sprague, designed it and the Ambassadors Theatre next door as a pair, which is why the two look like siblings on the same short street. The First World War delayed St Martin's; the Ambassadors had opened three years earlier, in 1913. Inside, the auditorium is lined with dark wood panelling, and the building has been Grade II listed since 1973.

The building is privately owned rather than part of one of the big theatre groups. The 19th Baron Willoughby de Broke commissioned it, and the present Lord Willoughby de Broke and his family still own it. The production is a separate business: The Mousetrap was sold in July 2024 to a consortium led by Brian Fenty of TodayTix Group, and Adam Spiegel Productions runs the theatre day to day.

The Mousetrap

The Mousetrap transferred here from the Ambassadors on 25 March 1974 and has played here ever since, which makes it the longest continuously running show in the world.

Notable past productions

The theatre opened with a musical comedy, and a taste for thrillers came well before The Mousetrap arrived.

  • 1916: Houp La!, starring Gertie Millar, the musical comedy it opened with
  • 1923: Karel Čapek's R.U.R., the play that gave English the word "robot", with Basil Rathbone
  • 1927: Meet the Wife, with Henry Daniell
  • 1970: Sleuth, Anthony Shaffer's thriller

Hugh Williams's The Grass is Greener, later filmed, and John Mortimer's The Wrong Side of the Park also played here.

The daytime shows

Through the school holidays, the theatre puts on children's shows in the daytime, alongside the evening performances of The Mousetrap: The Nutcracker from Little Bulb at Christmas 2025, Midnight in the Toyshop at Easter 2026 for ages three and up, CoComelon Live for the youngest audiences, and The Smartest Giant in Town from 9 December 2026 to 3 January 2027.

If you're booking for young children, these are the ones to look at rather than the evening play. They're short, they start at family-friendly times like 11am and 2pm, and they've nothing to do with The Mousetrap.

Other venues of similar size

  • the Ambassadors Theatre, 410 seats, next door on West Street, and The Mousetrap's first home
  • Criterion Theatre, 585 seats on Piccadilly Circus, with the same three levels: Stalls, Dress Circle and Upper Circle
  • Fortune Theatre, 433 seats on Russell Street, and the same three levels again

FAQs

Has The Mousetrap always been at St Martin's Theatre?

No. Its first home was the Ambassadors, next door, from 25 November 1952. The move to St Martin's came on 25 March 1974, so it's spent its whole life on the same short street.