When we attended the Food & Culture Awards with Time & Leisure Magazine back in September, fate and perhaps good planning, positioned our station opposite the Omnibus Theatre. An award-winning south London theatre who were fast approaching their 5th Birthday celebrations and they just happened to be on the search for a very special birthday cake.

Here at Ann’s Designer Cakes, we never want to miss out on an opportunity to introduce our cakes to wider audiences, so we were thrilled to be asked to be a part of their event. After weeks of discussions, planning, designing and building, the big day finally arrived and it turned out to be one of the best events we’ve had the privilege of being a part of to date.

Omnibus Theatre

Omnibus Theatre was opened in 2013. Notable in-house productions include Woyzeck (2013), Macbeth (2014), Colour (2015), Mule (2016), Spring Offensive(2017) and Zeraffa Giraffa (2017). Omnibus Theatre is led by Artistic Director Marie McCarthy. Patrons include Sir Michael Gambon, Matthew Warchus, Sir Richard Eyre and Maggi Hambling. The venue is a registered charity and receives no core funding.

The Cake

We designed and created a cake in the style of the theatre building which could be turned around to reveal an intimate stage, with promotions of their past and present productions adorning the wings and taking centre stage, Bill Nighy himself and two of the theatre’s very special resident cats, Molly and Tybalt.

We were thrilled with the finished piece and so were the Omnibus team who were thankfully on hand to help carry it into the building as it was very heavy!

Everyone commented on the cake and it became a focal point for the event. The Omnibus team were really pleased with it too…

Ann’s design was breathtaking. I am the PR for Omnibus Theatre, an Off-West End venue that is building awareness in London. We commissioned Ann to bake a 5th birthday celebration cake for Bill Nighy to cut on the day. It was beyond our wildest dreams and Bill and everyone coming to the theatre on the day were treated to an amazing spectacle, and it tasted great too! Thank you Ann Egan 🙂

Diana Whitehead, PR & Communications Manager, Omnbus Theatre 

5th Birthday Celebrations with Bill Nighy & Dame Judi Dench

Multi-award winning actor Bill Nighy, best known for his work in beloved films including The Best Exotic Marigold HotelPrideHot FuzzHarry Potter and The Deathly Hallows and of course Love Actually joined leading Off-West End venue, Omnibus Theatre in South London, to celebrate its 5th birthday.

Dame Judi Dench, who was announced earlier in the week as the theatre’s newest heavyweight patron, gave a special birthday message to the audience before Bill was invited to cut the celebration cake.

Bill’s special appearance for the birthday celebrations took place in the intimate setting of the award-winning South London venue’s 110- seat theatre space where audiences were also treated to an In Conversation With the actor, interviewed by The Guardian’s features writer and reviewer Miranda Sawyer.

The unique event was also part of a day filled with interactive installations, shows and exhibitions that celebrated the theatre’s progress and industry-wide support.  

Post the event, there was coverage on Broadway World and Theatre Weekly, where Ann’s Designer Cakes was mentioned.

Thank you so much to Omnibus Theatre for working with us on your very special event. It was an honour to be a part of it and we hope to work with you again soon. 

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