Last year: 5th
Highest previous: 5th
Productions include: The Book of Mormon, Shakespeare in Love, King Charles III, Sunny Afternoon, 1984, The River (Broadway), Twelfth Night and Richard III (Broadway)
Coming up in 2015: Bend It Like Beckham, The Nether, Hamlet
Friedman has had an astonishing last few years. Her productions won so many prizes at the Olivier Awards in April, the organisers might have to consider handing out statuettes of Friedman in future years. Ghosts, Chimerica, the London transfer of The Book of Mormon and Merrily We Roll Along were all recognised and her productions bagged gongs across 13 categories.
Meanwhile, on Broadway, where she is also a major player, her production of Twelfth Night picked up two Tonys. She followed that with yet more quality – the West End transfer of King Charles III, the stage adaptation of Shakespeare in Love, Electra at the Old Vic, Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon, plus the Broadway transfer of The River with Hugh Jackman.
Soon to come: the West End transfer of The Nether and Bend It Like Beckham the musical. And, lest we forget, Benedict Cumberbatch in Hamlet, which, despite not taking place until later this year, was the most sought-after ticket of 2014.
Friedman is a force of nature and, backed by the financial clout of parent company the Ambassador Theatre Group, is now undoubtedly the West End’s most prolific producer.
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