St. Martin's Theatre

St. Martin's Theatre was originally intended to be named the Irving Theatre. The plans for the building were drafted in 1913, but the onset of the First World War stalled construction for years. When the doors finally opened in November 1916, it debuted with a musical comedy called Houp La!, starring the popular Edwardian performer Gertie Millar. The venue was designed by architect W. G. R. Sprague as one half of a pair with the neighboring Ambassadors Theatre, and it remains the only theatre in the West End still owned by the family that originally commissioned it.