Back to News & Press Sonia Friedman Productions, Annapurna Theatre and the Almeida Theatre Announce the Transfer of the Sell-Out, Critically Acclaimed and Award-Winning Production of 1536 Monday, 17 November 2025 ★★★★★ “Funny, saucy, and totally gripping” The Daily Mail ★★★★ The Guardian, Independent, The Standard, The Stage, WhatsOnStage, Financial Times SMART. SCRAPPY. SAVAGE. 1536 , the “electrifying” (The Standard) historical drama with a modern edge, transfers to the West End following a sold-out run at the Almeida Theatre. Running from 02 May to 01 August 2026 at the Ambassadors Theatre, this must-see new play is “effortlessly funny, bold and ballsy” (The Guardian). Casting for the production will be announced in due course. Directed by Lyndsey Turner (Chimerica ), this “razor-sharp, darkly comic and blisteringly relevant ” (The Independent) play explores the dynamics of female friendship in a world stacked against women. 1536 is writer Ava Pickett ’s first play, which won her the 2024 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the award for Best Writer at the 2025 Stage Debut Awards, and a special commendation from The George Devine Award. She is currently co-writing, alongside Baz Luhrmann, his Jehanne D'Arc film. Ava Pickett, Writer , said “It’s hard to put into words how much this whole process has meant to me so I’m going to resort to cliché and say it’s beyond my wildest dreams – which still feels a bit like I’m downplaying it. I’m such an example of what can happen when people get in your corner early and so I just want to thank everyone at the Almeida Theatre and Genesis for developing it and putting it on in the first place and then thank you so much to Sonia Friedman for coming in with such enthusiasm and belief in it and wanting to bring it into the West End - I really am still pinching myself! It's hard to talk about “inspiration” for the play, as to be honest, 1536 was written in response to the never-ending stories in the news about violence against women. It asks the question if a King can kill his wife in a palace, how does that impact three working class women in Essex? Because the world we live in has not changed as much as we are made to believe, because what happens in the corridors of power still bleeds down, as it always has. So what a privilege it is to be able to bring Anna, Mariella and Jane to more audiences in all their complicated, funny, dark, desperate glory”. Kings don’t kill their wives, right? Tudor England. A field in Essex. Three women hurry to their childhood meeting place, thirsty for gossip from London. Word spreads of a clash between King Henry VIII and his Queen, Anne Boleyn. And closer to home, another rumour begins to catch fire. As these women begin to see echoes of the royal drama in their own rural lives, a tide of violence threatens their very existence, and they realise the royal scandal could cost them everything. The creative team for 1536 includes; Director: Lyndsey Turner ; Set and Costume Designer: Max Jones ; Lighting Designer: Jack Knowles ; Sound Designer: Tingying Dong , Movement and Intimacy Director: Anna Morrissey ; Composer and Arranger: Will Stuart and Casting Director: Amy Ball CDG. 1536 is produced in the West End by Sonia Friedman Productions, Annapurna Theatre, and the Almeida Theatre. Up Up

SFP NEWS The latest updates, announcements and news from Sonia Friedman Productions. READ MORE 17 Nov 2025 Sonia Friedman Productions, Annapurna Theatre and the Almeida Theatre Announce the Transfer of the Sell-Out, Critically Acclaimed and Award-Winning Production of 1536 Written by Ava Pickett and Directed by Lyndsey Turner. Running at the Ambassadors Theatre from 02 May - 01 August 2026. READ MORE 14 Nov 2025 THE STAGE: Alan Cumming unveils inaugural Pitlochry season featuring Once and My Fair Lady "I was in the very first play that Sonia Friedman ever produced". READ MORE 13 Nov 2025 PLAYBILL: Get a 1st Listen to Audible's CREDITORS, Starring Liev Schreiber, Maggie Siff, and Justice Smith From TOGETHER by Sonia Friedman and Hugh Jackman. READ MORE 12 Nov 2025 PEOPLE: Tom Felton Recreates Iconic Draco Malfoy Moment as He Makes Broadway Debut in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child The actor's limited 26-week engagement in the play is currently scheduled through May 10, 2026. READ MORE 7 Nov 2025 THE STAGE: Sonia Friedman - Curriculum Changes Are Vital to Build an Empathetic Society Producer, Sonia Friedman, hails changes to the national curriculum. READ MORE 1 Nov 2025 Meet Paddington! First Look at Paddington Bear as PADDINGTON The Musical begins previews. READ MORE 28 Oct 2025 Royal Court Theatre Announces 70th Anniversary Season including JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN Running Friday 20 March - Saturday 25 April 2026. READ MORE 20 Oct 2025 THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: Stephen Daldry, Sonia Friedman Board ‘A FRIEND OF DOROTHY,’ Short With Miriam Margolyes, Stephen Fry "Seeing it for the first time was a revelation," says 'Billy Elliot' director Daldry, while Friedman shares: "I hope it reminds us of the extraordinary impact that even the smallest acts of kindness can have." READ MORE 17 Oct 2025 Tickets Now On Sale for Sony Pictures Classics and Fathom Entertainment's Live Filmed Version of Tony-Winning MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG Directed by Maria Friedman, Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff & Lindsay Mendez. READ MORE 16 Oct 2025 BroadwayHD Marks 10th Anniversary with Exclusive Streaming Premieres including THE SHARK IS BROKEN - October 16 A “profound dive behind the scenes of the making of Jaws” (The Daily Telegraph,★★★★). READ MORE LOAD MORE

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Back to Productions 1536 ★★★★★ “Funny, saucy, and totally gripping” The Daily Mail Kings don’t kill their wives, right? Tudor England. A field in Essex. Three women hurry to their childhood meeting place, thirsty for gossip from London. Word spreads of a clash between King Henry VIII and his Queen, Anne Boleyn. And closer to home, another rumour begins to catch fire. ★★★★ The Guardian 1536 , the “electrifying” (The Standard) historical drama with a modern edge, transfers to the West End following a sold-out run at the Almeida Theatre. Running from 02 May to 01 August 2026 at the Ambassadors Theatre, this must-see new play is “effortlessly funny, bold and ballsy” (The Guardian). Casting for the production will be announced in due course. BOOK HERE . Directed by Lyndsey Turner (Chimerica ), this “razor-sharp, darkly comic and blisteringly relevant ” (The Independent) play explores the dynamics of female friendship in a world stacked against women. 1536 is writer Ava Pickett ’s first play, which won her the 2024 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the award for Best Writer at the 2025 Stage Debut Awards, and a special commendation from The George Devine Award. She is currently co-writing, alongside Baz Luhrmann, his Jehanne D'Arc film. Ava Pickett, Writer , said “It’s hard to put into words how much this whole process has meant to me so I’m going to resort to cliché and say it’s beyond my wildest dreams – which still feels a bit like I’m downplaying it. I’m such an example of what can happen when people get in your corner early and so I just want to thank everyone at the Almeida Theatre and Genesis for developing it and putting it on in the first place and then thank you so much to Sonia Friedman for coming in with such enthusiasm and belief in it and wanting to bring it into the West End - I really am still pinching myself! It's hard to talk about “inspiration” for the play, as to be honest, 1536 was written in response to the never-ending stories in the news about violence against women. It asks the question if a King can kill his wife in a palace, how does that impact three working class women in Essex? Because the world we live in has not changed as much as we are made to believe, because what happens in the corridors of power still bleeds down, as it always has. So what a privilege it is to be able to bring Anna, Mariella and Jane to more audiences in all their complicated, funny, dark, desperate glory”. ★★★★ Independent CAST To be announced. CREATIVES AVA PICKETT - Writer LYNDSEY TURNER - Director MAX JONES - Set and Costume Designer JACK KNOWLES - Lighting Designer TINGYING DONG - Sound Designer ANNA MORRISSEY - Movement and Intimacy Director WILL STUART - Composer and Arranger AMY BALL CDG - Casting Director

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Back to News & Press THE STAGE: Alan Cumming unveils inaugural Pitlochry season featuring Once and My Fair Lady Friday, 14 November 2025 Original article here . Simon Russell Beale , Shirley Henderson and Frances Ruffelle will star in Alan Cumming’s first season as artistic director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre , which includes revivals of musicals Once and My Fair Lady and world premieres from playwrights Martin Sherman and Douglas Maxwell. Other actors set to appear include Adura Onashile, Sandy Grierson, Forbes Masson , Maureen Beattie, Fra Fee and Johnnie McKnight, while directors John Tiffany , Maria Friedman, Andrew Panton, Finn den Hertog , Sam Pinkleton and Bill Buckhurst will stage shows at the venue. The news comes shortly after the announcement of Out in the Hills , a new LGBTQIA+ festival at Pitlochry Festival Theatre in January, which will feature Ian McKellen and Graham Norton. Cumming’s plans also include the axeing of the Perthshire theatre’s summer repertory company, a new partnership with Sonia Friedman Productions and forgoing his own salary as artistic director. Speaking to The Stage, Cumming said he wanted to turn Pitlochry Festival Theatre into a theatre “camp” where shows would be created and premiered before transferring to venues elsewhere. Cumming said: “I wanted this to be a little bubble where artists can get to work on stuff with really great people, then show it to people in Scotland, before it goes somewhere else in the world. That is my plan. That is the model I suggested to people. And that is what is happening.” The season begins in May with the Scottish premiere of the Tony award-winning Broadway production of musical Once, remounted by the original creative team, including director Tiffany, designer Bob Crowley, choreographer Steven Hoggett and musical director Martin Lowe. This will be followed on the theatre’s main stage by Lear, an adaptation of King Lear written and directed by Den Hertog featuring Masson and Beattie, then by a revival of musical A History of Paper starring Henderson and Cumming and directed by Panton. In September, Tony award-winner Pinkleton will stage the world premiere of Ceilidh, a new musical from Scottish composers Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie, AKA Noisemaker. The main stage programme concludes with the National Theatre of Scotland’s recently announced production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in November, followed by a revival of My Fair Lady directed by Friedman and starring Cumming as Henry Higgins. The theatre’s studio programme begins in June, with the world premiere of Inexperience, a new play by Douglas Maxwell, directed by Sally Reid and starring Onashile and Grierson. This will be followed by I Can Die Too, a new “play with music” inspired by Jean Cocteau’s La Voix Humaine written by Cumming, Ruffelle and Sally George, starring Ruffelle and directed by Buckhurst, then by a revival of Iain Heggie’s play Wiping My Mother’s Arse starring McKnight. The studio programme will conclude in September with I’ll Be Seeing You, a new play about Liberace featuring Russell Beale and Fee, designed by Tim Hatley and directed by Cumming. I Can Die Too will be co-produced with Lovechild Productions and A History of Paper with Dundee Rep Theatre, while Cumming said Sonia Friedman was involved with several shows. He told The Stage: “I was in the first play Sonia ever produced, Accidental Death of an Anarchist in 1990 at the National Theatre. She has been a great friend over the years and a huge supporter of my plans for this. She is helping us take some of the shows to London and New York.” Commenting on the axeing of the theatre’s summer repertory company, Cumming said: “That was one of the things that I said when I took the job. My acceptance was predicated on not having a rep company anymore. I wouldn’t be able to do these shows if we had one.” He continued: “It was important we got rid of that system. Fortunately, the people at the theatre are delighted about that because it is just not financially viable any more.” Up Up

Back to News & Press PLAYBILL: Get a 1st Listen to Audible's CREDITORS, Starring Liev Schreiber, Maggie Siff, and Justice Smith Thursday, 13 November 2025 Original article here . Audible is releasing an audio recording of its Off-Broadway production of Strindberg's Creditors (newly adapted by Jen Silverman ) starring Liev Schreiber , Maggie Siff , and Justice Smith November 13—but Playbill has a first listen to a clip. The Together project brought a series of plays, readings, panels, and workshops to Audible's Minetta Lane Theatre earlier this year. The collaboration included two plays directed by Ian Rickson and presented in repertory: the New York premiere of Hannah Moscovitch’s Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes , starring Ella Beatty and Hugh Jackman, which opened April 28; and Creditors , which opened May 10. The recording of Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes released October 9. First listen here . The creative team for both productions included scenic designers Brett J Banakis and Christine Jones , costume designer Ásta Hostetter, lighting designer Isabella Byrd , sound designer Mikaal Sulaiman , intimacy coordinator Ann James , and casting director Jim Carnahan . Merrick Williams served as production stage manager for Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, and Angela Griggs served as production stage manager for Creditors , with theatrical supervision by ShowTown Theatricals . Throughout their partnership, Audible Theater and Together also curated a variety of accompanying events at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre. Four Monday night readings, attended for free by approximately 800 patrons, included Mingus by Tyler English-Beckwith, directed by Kenny Leon, with Taye Diggs and Olivia Washington; Where Storms Are Born by Harrison David Rivers, directed by Miranda Haymon, with Joshua Boone, Kecia Lewis, Okieriete Onaodowan, Malika Samuel, Britton Smith, and Ar'iel Stachel; Venus by Steve Yockey, directed by Dara Malina, with Merle Dandridge and Zosia Mamet; and The Sandwich Ministry by Miranda Rose Hall, directed by Ian Rickson, with Sutton Foster, Midori Francis, and Myra Lucretia Taylor. Additionally, three artist workshops were also held during the residency, with two post-show cast-talkbacks and two panel discussions with panelists including Isaac Butler, Rachel Chavkin, Moisés Kaufman, James Ijames, Itamar Moses, and Lila Neugebauer. Up Up

Back to News & Press THE STAGE: Sonia Friedman - Curriculum Changes Are Vital to Build an Empathetic Society Friday, 7 November 2025 Original article here . Producer Sonia Friedman has hailed changes to the national curriculum that will give greater prominence to drama and scrap the controversial English Baccalaureate as “absolutely essential” for society as a whole. The producer was responding to news released by the government this week, in which it set out its plans for the curriculum following a much-anticipated review. Key among the recommendations that the government will implement is the removal of the EBacc and a greater role for drama in the curriculum. Friedman said: “There is no society without culture. It’s not only positive but absolutely essential that the government is making these vital changes to the national curriculum. Access to the arts is fundamental for young people, not just to enrich their lives culturally, but because it has been proven to support mental well-being, nurture emotional intelligence, foster empathy and build community.” She added: “The arts teach young people to imagine, to collaborate and to see the world through other people’s eyes – skills that are crucial for life and work alike. A school theatre trip can stay with you forever. It can spark creativity and open doors to worlds and possibilities you never knew existed.” Friedman said these experiences were needed at the “heart of our education system” and described it as “heartening” that steps were being taken to recognise the “essential role the arts play in shaping who we become as both individuals and as a society”. Up Up

Back to News & Press PEOPLE: Tom Felton Recreates Iconic Draco Malfoy Moment as He Makes Broadway Debut in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Wednesday, 12 November 2025 Original article here . It was pure magic on Broadway on Tuesday, Nov. 11 as Tom Felton officially made his debut in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child . Two decades after Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone first hit theaters, the actor proved he still knows exactly how to cast a spell as he stepped onto the stage of New York City’s Lyric Theatre and back into the shoes of Draco Malfoy, the sneering Slytherin he played in all eight films. PEOPLE was there for the milestone moment in the packed audience that included plenty of lifelong Potter fans, all dressed as their favorite characters from J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World. The Tony Award-winning play — penned by Jack Thorne as the eighth story in the Harry Potter series with help from Rowling and the production's director, John Tiffany — picks up 19 years after the action in Deathly Hallows and follows the next generation of wizards as they navigate the latest Hogwarts' mystery. Returning to the role that made him a household name, Felton was met with thunderous applause during his entrance. But the crowd truly erupted when he recreated one of Draco’s most memorable movie moments, raising his wand over his face and delivering that line with a knowing grin: "Scared, Potter?" Of course, this was more than a nostalgic wink to his Harry Potter days, it was a chance for Felton to revisit the character that defined his youth and explore him from an entirely new perspective. As a grown-up Draco — older, wiser and still shadowed by the choices of his youth — Felton leaned into the quieter complexities of a father still learning how to move beyond his family’s dark legacy. In doing so, he found new layers of heart and humanity in the onetime Hogwarts bully, with a performance that carried the weight of redemption with a hint of reckoning. By curtain call, the emotion of the night clearly caught up with Felton. His eyes were glistening as he took his final bow, visibly moved by the roaring standing ovation that met him and the rest of Cursed Child ’s newly launched Year 7 company. This marks Felton's first time playing Draco since the final Harry Potter movie wrapped in 2011, and his first time ever being on Broadway. It's also the first time an actor from the film has appeared in the hit stage show. "I keep thinking I’m dreaming," Felton told PEOPLE back in June, on the red carpet at the 2025 Tony Awards , adding that he's a "huge fan of the show" and has seen it "a dozen times, nearly in England and a few times now on Broadway." "I just never saw myself having blonde hair again and reprising that role,” he admitted. “Now as a dad, Draco has a son. So yes, it is an old character, but in a very new set of circumstances. I'm excited to explore it." The actor added that his former costar Daniel Radcliffe , a Tony Award winner and longtime Broadway vet, has been giving him advice ahead of his debut. "My old school chum, Potter, [Daniel] Radcliffe, has done quite a bit of Broadway, so he's holding my hand and certainly helping me through all the things that are hard to learn," Felton said. "But from what I gather, it's an amazing community of people. The fans are really, really gracious and excited. So I'm just thrilled to be part of it." Felton's limited 26-week engagement in Cursed Child is currently scheduled through May 10, 2026. Joining Felton on stage is John Skelley, Emmet Smith, Aidan Close and Trish Lindstrom, who join the Broadway company as Harry Potter, Albus Potter, Scorpius Malfoy and Ginny Potter, respectively, after originating these roles in the North American touring production. Other cast members include Rachel Christopher as Hermione Granger, Daniel Fredrick as Ron Weasley, Janae Hammond as Rose Granger-Weasley, Kristen Martin as Delphi Diggory. The company includes Chadd Alexander, John Alix, Logan Becker, Darby Breedlove, Megan Byrne, James Cribbins, Ted Deasy, Gary-Kayi Fletcher, Dani Goldberg, Alexis Gordon, Caleb Hafen, Logan James Hall, Chance Marshaun Hill, Jay Mack, Samaria Nixon-Fleming, Bradley Patchett, Alexandra Peter, Dan Plehal, Allie Re, Gabrielle Reid, Isaac Phaman Reynolds, Kiaya Scott, Maren Searle, Stephen Spinella, Tom Stephens. Khadija Tariyan, Baylen Thomas, Julius Williams and Riley Thad Young. Up Up