Back to News & Press PADDINGTON THE MUSICAL Releases a Behind the Scenes Extract of Brand-New Song "Rhythm Of London" and Announces Cast Album Release on Decca Records Thursday, 20 November 2025 With PADDINGTON The Musical now in previews at the Savoy Theatre , producers Sonia Friedman Productions , STUDIOCANAL and Eliza Lumley Productions on behalf of Universal Music UK announce a £35 lottery scheme, alongside the release of a behind-the-scenes extract of a brand-new song from the musical Rhythm of London and confirmation of the release date of the cast album, now available for pre-order. Each month, a number of stalls seats for £35 will be available via a lottery for the performances across the following month, including for sold-out performances. To enter, patrons can sign up via: https://paddingtonthemusical.com/lottery/ . The first draw will take place on 3 December for performances throughout January 2026, and then monthly thereafter. For full details and terms and conditions, please check the website. The production recently extended until October 2026, with tickets available from £25 and over 45,000 seats available for under £40. Best availability from March 2026. Also announced today is the ‘Paddington The Musical - Original Cast Recording’ which will be released by Decca Records in March 2026, and on collectible vinyl edition in May 2026. Recorded with the complete West End cast, and full orchestra at Abbey Road Studios. Up Up

Back to News & Press Five Star Hit - 1984 - Transfers to the West End's Playhouse Theatre Friday, 7 March 2014 A new adaptation created by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Ave, London, WC2N 5DE 28 April –19 July 2014 www.1984ThePlay.co.uk Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan’s critically acclaimed adaptation of George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece will come to the West End, directly from the Almeida Theatre, for a strictly limited 12-week run at the Playhouse Theatre from 28 April - 19 July 2014, with Press Night on 8 May. “This is a rigorous and prodigiously confident reimagining of Orwell’s dystopian nightmare” Evening Standard Tickets on sale from today. For each performance of this stunning show which, among many other things, brought the concept of Big Brother and Room 101 into the public consciousness, there will be 101 tickets available each day for the price of £19.84. “This is a staging that reconsiders a classic with such steely power that it chills Brain, Blood and Bone” The Times 1984 is a new adaptation of George Orwell’s novel created by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan, designed by Chloe Lamford, with lighting by Natasha Chivers, sound by Tom Gibbons and video designed by Tim Reid. Originally produced by Headlong, Nottingham Playhouse and the Almeida Theatre, 1984 had its world premiere at Nottingham Playhouse in September and enjoyed a hugely successful UK tour. George Orwell’s 1984, published in 1949, is one of the most influential novels in recent history, with its chilling depiction of perpetual war, pervasive government surveillance and incessant public mind-control. Its ideas have become our ideas, and Orwell’s fiction is often said to be our reality. Filtering the spirit and the ambition of the novel through the lens of contemporary culture, this radical new staging explores surveillance culture, identity and how thinking you can fly might actually be the first step to flying. Up Up

Back to News & Press Harry Potter and the Cursed Child receives 6 Tony Awards Saturday, 9 June 2018 Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has won 6 Tony Awards® including Best Play—making it the most awarded show of the season. Best Play Director of a Play – John Tiffany Scenic Design of a Play – Christine Jones Lighting Design of a Play – Neil Austin Costume Design of a Play – Katrina Lindsay Sound Design of a Play – Gareth Fry Up Up

Back to News & Press Sonia Friedman Speaks With Baz Bamigboye About Her Career Thus Far Tuesday, 17 May 2022 It was a life-changing moment for her, working with playwrights who directed their own work. “I fell in love at that point, particularly with new work, watching actors mine something that no one else in the world has ever seen before.” Read the full article here Up Up

Back to Productions THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Following huge critical acclaim at the National Theatre, this production opened in the West End in September 2025 and ran until Jan 2026. ★★★★★ 'A sparkling new production... that's fiercely faithful to Wilde's wickedly subversive spirit' Daily Mail The National Theatre's sold-out production of The Importance of Being Earnest transfers to the Noël Coward Theatre this Autumn, in a co-production with Sonia Friedman Productions . Olly Alexander (It’s A Sin ) plays Algernon Moncrieff in director Max Webster ‘s (Donmar’s Macbeth ; Life of Pi ) joyful and flamboyant reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s ‘glittering masterpiece’ (Telegraph ), a hilarious story of identity, impersonation and romance. ★★★★ 'Oscar Wilde's glittering masterpiece' The Telegraph Being sensible can be excessively boring. At least Jack thinks so. While assuming the role of dutiful guardian in the country, he lets loose in town under a false identity. Meanwhile, his friend Algy takes on a similar facade. Unfortunately, living a double life has its drawbacks, especially when it comes to love. Hoping to impress two eligible ladies, the gentlemen find themselves caught in a web of lies they must carefully navigate. ★★★★★ 'An anarchically camp rewilding of Wilde' Time Out CAST OLLY ALEXANDER – Algernon Moncrieff NATHAN STEWART-JARRETT - Jack Worthing HUGH DENNIS - Reverend Canon Chausuble SHOBNA GULATI - Miss Prism KITTY HAWTHORNE - Gwendolen Fairfax JESSICA WHITEHURST - Cecily Cardew HAYLEY CARMICHAEL - Lane/Merriman STEPHEN FRY - Lady Bracknell JASMINE KERR - Ensemble / Understudy Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew SAM LIU - Ensemble / Understudy Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff GILLIAN MCCAFFERTY - Ensemble / Understudy Lady Bracknell and Miss Prism ELLIOT PRITCHARD - Ensemble / Understudy Algernon Moncrieff and Jack Worthing LIV SPENCER - Ensemble / Understudy Reverend Canon Chasuble and Merriman/Lane CREATIVES MAX WEBSTER – Director RAE SMITH – Set & Costume Designer JON CLARK – Lighting Designer NICOLA T. CHANG – Sound Designer CARRIE-ANNE INGROUILLE – Movement Director DJ WALDE – Composer JOYCE ANDERSON – Physical Comedy Advisor INGRID MACKINNON – Intimacy Coordinator ALASTAIR COOMER CGD – Casting Director HAZEL HOLDER – Dialect Coach SHEREEN IBRAHIM – Voice Coach

Back to Productions MOJO This production began performances on 26th October 2013 and closed 8th February 2014. ★★★★ A smash hit. Addictive Daily Telegraph Set against the fledgling rock 'n' roll scene of 50s Soho, this savagely funny play delves into the sleazy underworld and power games of London's most infamous district. ★★★★ Rock’n’roll brilliance from a band of stars. Electrifying The Times Mojo , winner of the Olivier award for Best New Comedy, reunites two of British theatre's great collaborators; writer Jez Butterworth and director Ian Rickson who, as well as the original production of Mojo, gave us the multi-award-winning, hit sensation Jerusalem and the critically acclaimed The River. Ian Rickson is also fresh from other successes including Old Times and Betrayal. Featuring a strong ensemble cast including Brendan Coyle (Downton Abbey, The Weir), Rupert Grint (Harry Potter, Driving Lessons), Daniel Mays (Made in Dagenham, Mrs Biggs, The Winterling) and Ben Whishaw (Skyfall, The Hour, Peter and Alice). Sonia Friedman Productions , in association with Tulchin Bartner Productions , Rupert Gavin , Tanya Link Productions and JFL/GHF Productions presents “MOJO ”. This is the first major revival of the play which dazzled London when it opened at the Royal Court, prior to a sell-out West End run in 1996. ★★★★ Superlatively acted production by Ian Rickson. Stunning The Guardian CAST BRENDAN COYLE – Mickey RUPERT GRINT – Sweets DANIEL MAYS – Potts BEN WHISHAW – Baby COLIN MORGAN – Skinny TOM RHYS HARRIES – Silver Johnny CREATIVES JEZ BUTTERWORTH – Playwright IAN RICKSON – Director ULTZ – Designer CHARLES BALFOUR – Lighting Designer STEPHEN WARBECK – Music Designer SIMON BAKER – Sound Designer

Back to News & Press 1984 extends run due to unprecedented demand Sunday, 18 May 2014 Due to unprecedented demand, a 5 week extension is announced today for the Headlong, Nottingham Playhouse and Almeida Theatre production of 1984, a critically acclaimed adaptation by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan. The production will now run at the West End’s Playhouse Theatre until 23 August 2014 (previously 19th July 2013), prior to a second UK tour in the autumn, as previously announced. Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan’s adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 opened in the West End on 28 April, transferring directly from the Almeida Theatre. 1984 is written and directed by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan, set and costume designed by Chloe Lamford, with lighting designed by Natasha Chivers, sound designed by Tom Gibbons and video designed by Tim Reid. Originally produced by Headlong and Nottingham Playhouse, 1984 had its world premiere at Nottingham Playhouse in September and went on to enjoy a hugely successful UK tour and a 7-week run at the Almeida Theatre. George Orwell’s 1984, published in 1949, is one of the most influential novels in recent history, with its chilling depiction of perpetual war, pervasive government surveillance and incessant public mind-control. Its ideas have become our ideas, and Orwell’s fiction is often said to be our reality. Filtering the spirit and the ambition of the novel through the lens of contemporary culture, this radical new staging explores surveillance culture, identity and how thinking you can fly might actually be the first step to flying. Up Up

Back to News & Press Final Weeks of Twelfth Night & Richard III at The Apollo Theatre Friday, 18 January 2013 Following a sold-out run at Shakespeare’s Globe, the all-male productions transferred to the West End in November. The productions use original Shakespearean practices with on-stage seating, and are lit by over 100 candles. An additional week of performances was announced in September last year and a number of Day Seats at £10 each go on sale from the Box Office, in person, from 10am on the day of each performance. Designs are by Jenny Tiramani and music is by Claire van Kampen, who along with Director Tim Carroll, were the creative team behind the Globe’s original 2002 version of Twelfth Night. David Plater designed the lighting for the transfer. The Shakespeare’s Globe productions are produced in the West End by Sonia Friedman Productions in association with Shakespeare Road, 1001 Nights, Bob Bartner & Norman Tulchin, Rupert Gavin and Adam Blanshay. Twelfth Night The full cast for Twelfth Night is Samuel Barnett (Sebastian), Liam Brennan (Orsino), Paul Chahidi, (Maria), John Paul Connolly (Antonio), Ian Drysdale (Priest and Valentine), Peter Hamilton Dyer (Feste), Johnny Flynn (Viola), Stephen Fry (Malvolio), James Garnon (Fabian), Colin Hurley (Sir Toby Belch), Roger Lloyd Pack (Sir Andrew Aguecheek), Mark Rylance (Olivia), Jethro Skinner (Captain and Officer) and Ben Thompson (Curio). In the household of Olivia, two campaigns are being quietly waged – one by the lovelorn Duke Orsino against the heart of the indifferent Olivia; the other by an alliance of servants and hangers-on against the high-handedness of her steward, the pompous Malvolio. When Orsino engages the cross-dressed Viola to plead with Olivia on his behalf, a bittersweet chain of events follows. Filled with a cast of unforgettable characters, Twelfth Night combines cruelty with high comedy and the pangs of unrequited love with some of the subtlest poetry and most exquisite songs Shakespeare ever wrote. Richard III The full cast for Richard III is Samuel Barnett (Queen Elizabeth), Liam Brennan (Clarence and the Lord Mayor), Paul Chahidi (Hastings and Tyrrell), John Paul Connolly (First Murderer and Ratcliff), Ian Drysdale (Scrivener/Rivers/Blunt), Peter Hamilton Dyer (Brakenbury and Catesby), Johnny Flynn (Lady Anne and Grey), James Garnon (Richmond and Duchess of York), Colin Hurley (King Edward IV and Stanley) and Roger Lloyd Pack (Duke of Buckingham), Mark Rylance (Richard III), Jethro Skinner (Second Murderer and Messenger) and Ben Thompson (Dorset and Bishop of Ely). Richard Duke of Gloucester is determined that he should wear the crown of England. He has already despatched one king and that king’s son; now all that stand in his way are two credulous brothers and two helpless nephews – the Princes in the Tower. And woe betide those – the women he wrongs, the henchmen he betrays – who dare to raise a voice against him. Monstrous, but theatrically electric, Richard is Shakespeare’s most charismatic, self-delighting villain, revelling at every moment in his homicidal, hypocritical journey to absolute power. Up Up

Back to News & Press Theatre stands on the brink of ruin Wednesday, 20 May 2020 British theatre is on the brink of total collapse. All the performing arts – theatre, dance, opera, comedy, theatre in education, Christmas pantomime, community shows – are facing the real possibility of complete obliteration. I know it sounds melodramatic. It beggars belief – but it is a statement of fact. Without an urgent government rescue package, 70 per cent of our performing arts companies will be out of business before the end of this year. More than 1,000 theatres around the country will be insolvent and might shut down for good. The loss is inconceivable. What we take for granted has taken generations to create. It would be irrecoverable. We need our government to step up and step in – sharpish. There is no time to waste. Imagine the next six months. One by one, our arts and cultural organisations will have to spend their reserves until there is nothing left. They will have no alternative but to enter administration: the Young Vic in November, Shakespeare’s Globe and the Old Vic shortly after. Southampton has already lost its producing theatre, the Nuffield. Others could soon follow: Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Sheffield. Unless there is intervention, we’ll watch the Royal Shakespeare Company close down, the Royal Opera House and Sadler’s Wells, even the National Theatre itself: all will be gone by December. All West End theatres will be mothballed. Dark. We cannot let this happen. Theatre is my life – my company has shut down and suspended over 18 productions globally in the past 10 weeks – but I know very well that theatre is not alone in the struggle against this historic crisis. It is not a special case, but the problem it is facing is a unique case and painfully simple. Since shutting their doors in mid-March, theatre companies have had virtually no income at all. The business of commercial and subsidised theatres is built on box-office revenue. Everything else is extra. We’ve no other means of earning money. Theatre can’t offer takeaways. It can’t shift its business online, welcome though the streaming of our shows has been. Arts and cultural organisations have lost 95 per cent of their income. Theatre has been hit hardest of all. The three-month shutdown has meant £330 million of income lost. As of now, we’re staring at a closure lasting six to nine months. It could even be a year or more. Costs carry on regardless, of course, even reduced to the bare minimums. Basic overheads alone are patently unsustainable without income. It costs £30,000 a week to keep a West End playhouse closed. The National is losing millions every month. Many theatres missed out on insurance claims. All have watched advance ticket sales fall away. Reserves are already running dangerously low. Only the Government’s brilliant job-retention scheme has kept our industry afloat this far – and the second it stops, theatres will sink. I am pleased to hear of the appointment of Neil Mendoza as Commissioner for Cultural Recovery and Renewal and hope his arrival will mark the beginning of a swift and productive dialogue between government and the arts sector. This damage is not just limited to theatre buildings. Across the country, commercial theatre productions have closed. Without assistance, many of these productions will not reopen. Even large-scale, long-running hits are at risk. Regional theatres dependent on income from tours will lose the very shows that might help them survive. We know the lockdown will not last for ever, but when it ends theatre’s problems don’t disappear. To put it bluntly, theatre is incompatible with social distancing. It just doesn’t stack up. Putting to one side the problems of staging plays (imagine keeping Romeo and Juliet two metres apart), social distancing would limit theatres to selling one seat in six. Most theatres need to sell 60 per cent of seats just to survive. The shortfall is not sustainable. If we want theatres to re-open, they will, for a time, until another solution is found, still need financial support. The economic logic of such support, long-term, is self-evident. Theatre makes this country far more than it receives in subsidy. Its value to London’s economy alone is roughly £5 billion a year. Restaurants and many kinds of retailers benefit from, some rely on, our audiences. Theatre adds £2 billion to the capital’s critical tourism sector. As we face an uncertain economic future, theatre can and must play its part in our recovery. But that’s not the true value of theatre. Imagine our cultural landscape without it. Imagine our country. The performing arts are part of the fabric of our lives. Nationwide, 40 per cent of households go to the theatre every year: family outings to pantos, school trips to Shakespeare, the free-for-all of the Edinburgh Fringe, the largest arts festival anywhere on the planet. Britain’s theatres draw annual audiences of 34 million – twice that of the Premier League. Our theatre makers are world-class and world-leading. British-born shows have spread around the world, from Broadway to Beijing. Theatre is a broad church – big-budget musicals to rural tours, large-scale community shows to cutting-edge performance art. Together they provide the key pipeline for talent, feeding Britain’s burgeoning television and film industries. Phoebe Waller-Bridge of Fleabag, and John Boyega of Star Wars; Oscar winners Sam Mendes and Danny Boyle; Marianne Elliott, Phyllida Lloyd and Stephen Daldry – multiple Olivier and Tony award winners – all cut their teeth on stage. Lose theatre and we lose a launch pad that is second to none. But theatre is also far more than the shows on its stages. Arts organisations are woven deep into our society. They play a huge and, often, central role in local communities. They are beacons of civic life, public spaces open to all, where youth groups, tea dances, spoken word sessions and education programmes can take place. Across the country, theatre companies reach out to all manner of people, from Clean Break’s work with female prisoners to Slung Low’s management of a working men’s club in Leeds. Theatres are the buildings that bring us together – and if anyone ever doubted the necessity of that, the current lockdown surely provides a rebuttal. Our stages will hold the stories that help us collectively process what this country has been through. Theatres will play a huge part in helping our society – our nation – to heal. Like never before all these organisations are vulnerable. They are inextricably interconnected: a cross-country network of artistic collaboration. Once gone, British theatre is lost for good. An ecosystem as intricate and evolved as ours, shaped over 70 years, is beyond price. It cannot be rebuilt from scratch. As of now, without support, it is in grave danger. Protecting and preserving what we have will cost far, far less than reconstructing it from the ruins. It is time to act. Up Up

Back to Productions ROCK 'N' ROLL – BROADWAY This production began performances on 7th November 2007 and closed on 9th March 2008. Triumphant. A passionately acted, decades-spanning tale of love, revolution and music. ROCK 'n' ROLL had me hooked. The New York Times ROCK 'n' ROLL spans the years from 1968-1990 from the double perspective of Prague, Czechoslovakia, where a rock 'n' roll band comes to symbolize resistance to the Communist regime, and of Cambridge, England, where the verities of love and death are shaping the lives of three generations in the family of a Marxist philosopher. Exhilirating! An impassioned contemplation of rock and revolution. Rufus Sewell, Sinead Cusack and Brian Cox are superb. Trevor Nunn's production crackles. A play in which we happily groove to the guitar licks of history! The Washington Post Following a record-breaking run in London's West End, ROCK 'n' ROLL , a new play by Tom Stoppard , opened on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater (242 West 45th Street) on November 4, 2007. Previews began on October 19, 2007. The premiere of ROCK 'n' ROLL marks the 40th anniversary since Stoppard was introduced to Broadway audiences with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Directed by Trevor Nunn , members of the original London company, including Brian Cox , Sinead Cusack and Rufus Sewell (winner of the Olivier, London Evening Standard and London Critics' Circle Awards for his performance), along with Nicole Ansari and Alice Eve , appear in the Broadway production of ROCK 'n' ROLL . ROCK 'n' ROLL received its world premiere at the Royal Court as part of their 50th Anniversary celebration and subsequently transferred to the Duke of York's Theatre for a sold-out run. Winner of the London Evening Standard and London Critics' Circle Theatre Awards for Best New Play, ROCK 'n' ROLL is produced on Broadway by Bob Boyett & Sonia Friedman Productions, Ostar Productions, Roger Berlind, Tulchin/Bartner, Douglas G. Smith, Dancap Productions, Jam Theatricals and The Weinstein Company, in association with Lincoln Center Theater. Nicole Ansari , Sinead Cusack and Rufus Sewell are appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association. The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association for its assistance to this production. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. The Wall Street Journal CAST SETH FISHER – The Piper/Policeman ALICE EVE – Esme (Younger)/Alice RUFUS SEWELL – Jan BRIAN COX – Max SINEAD CUSACK – Eleanor/Esme (Older) MARY BACON – Gillian/Magda QUENTIN MARÉ – Interrogator/Nigel STEPHEN KUNKEN – Ferdinand KEN MARKS – Milan/Waiter NICOLE ANSARI – Lenka BRIAN AVERS – Stephen ALEXANDREA NEIL – Candida ANNA O'DONOGHUE – Pupil CREATIVES TOM STOPPARD – Playwright TREVOR NUNN – Director ROBERT JONES – Set Designer EMMA RYOTT – Costume Designer HOWARD HARRISON – Lighting Designer IAN DICKINSON – Sound Designer

Back to News & Press Rehearsals begin for Twelfth Night & Richard III Monday, 16 September 2013 Rehearsals begin on Monday, September 16 in London for the critically heralded all-male Shakespeare’s Globe repertory productions of William Shakespeare’s TWELFTH NIGHT and RICHARD III on Broadway this fall. The productions, which delighted audiences and broke all box office records in London’s West End earlier this year, will open Sunday, November 10 at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th Street), with previews beginning October 15. Twelfth Night and Richard III, which are directed by Tim Carroll, designed by Jenny Tiramani and with music by Claire van Kampen, will play a limited engagement for 16 weeks. Tickets are on sale now through www.telecharge.com . For a schedule of performances and more information, please visit www.shakespearebroadway.com . Up Up

Back to Productions SEXUAL PERVERSITY IN CHICAGO This production began performances on 3rd May and closed on 2nd August 2003. The Chicago singles scene is a hotbed of opportunity for Danny ( Matthew Perry ) and his friend Bernie ( Hank Azaria ), two red-blooded males playing the mating and dating game. Bars, libraries, beaches – they'll go anywhere that the women are – the very places frequented by smart girls like Joan ( Minnie Driver ) and Deborah ( Kelly Reilly ). Controversial, provocative and bitingly funny, David Mamet 's classic 1974 play Sexual Perversity in Chicago is a play about four young people looking for love. Matthew Perry is best known for his Emmy-nominated role as Chandler Bing in the international hit comedy series Friends. Oscar-nominated actress Minnie Driver is one of the UK's most successful film actresses, having appeared in Good Will Hunting, Grosse Pointe Blank and Circle of Friends. Triple Emmy Award-winner Hank Azaria provides some of the key character voices for The Simpsons, whilst his film roles include The Birdcage and Quiz Show. Kelly Reilly is one of Britain's most versatile stage actresses and has appeared in The Graduate, The London Cuckolds and Blasted. CAST MATTHEW PERRY – Danny MINNIE DRIVER – Joan HANK AZARIA – Bernard KELLY REILLY – Deborah CREATIVES DAVID MAMET – Playwright LINDSAY POSNER – Director JEREMY HERBERT – Designer NIGEL EDWARDS – Lighting Designer TERRY DAVIES – Music MATT MCKENZIE – Sound Designer JIM CARNHAN – U.S. Casting