Search this site

Back to News & Press Sunny Afternoon forecast for OnBlackHealth festival Friday, 15 May 2015 The line-up for Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Stage has been revealed for OnBlackheath, in partnership with John Lewis, which is taking place this September in South East London. Nigerian saxophonist and singer Seun Kuti, folk singer Eska, MOBO-nominated Owiny Sigoma Sound System, Clap! Clap!, STUFF, Jordan Rakei plus DJ sets from LeFtO, Throwing Shade and Gilles Peterson himself have all been confirmed for this unique stage, which makes a welcome return to the festival this year. Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Stage will feature on the Sunday of the festival. OnBlackheath takes place Saturday 12 & Sunday 13 September 2015. London based Gilles Peterson’s many talents include DJ, broadcaster, producer, record collector and record label owner. Having won numerous awards throughout his career including a Sony Radio Academy Award, Gilles is best known for bringing a vast array of music genres to the masses. He continues to DJ around the world and will be bringing his sounds to Blackheath this September along with the specially selected artists he has picked for the stage. Also, confirmed for the Sunday of the festival is a special performance from the cast of Sunny Afternoon, the hit West End musical that tells the story of legendary British rock band The Kinks. With music, lyrics, and original story by Ray Davies himself, and a script by acclaimed playwright Joe Penhall, the show recently cleaned up at the Olivier awards – the Oscars of the theatre world - winning a total of four awards on the night (Best New Musical, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Outstanding Achievement in Music - Ray Davies).It has been seen by over 150,000 people since its opening in November. The cast from the show will be hitting the main stage at the festival and will perform hits including “Waterloo Sunset”, “You Really Got Me”, “Dedicated Follower of Fashion” and “Lola”. OnBlackheath has already announced headliners Elbow and Madness (in their only London shows this year) for the weekend, alongside Manic Street Preachers, Kelis, Anna Calvi and Laura Mvula. Heavenly Recordings will be curating the second stage on the Saturday of the festival with artists including Temples, 808 State, Stealing Sheep, Eaves, Hooton Tennis Club and Drinks (Cate Le Bon and Tim Presley). This year’s OnBlackheath festival also sees, for the first time, Dynamo hosting a stage dedicated to magic plus a variety of outstanding acts. With great music, and an immersive food experience, OnBlackheath will sure to be a festival season highlight this year. Tickets on sale NOW! www.onblackheath.com Up Up

Back to News & Press Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbach on screen Thursday, 20 January 2022 Benedict Cumberbatch, Ciarán Hinds, Sian Brooke and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith in Shakespeare’s famous tragedy filmed live in London by the National Theatre . As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father’s death but paralysed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state. Filmed by National Theatre Live Presented by Sonia Freidman Productions Up Up

Back to News & Press Coward at the Coward: Howard Davies to direct Lindsay Duncan, Jeremy Northam, Kevin Mcnally & Olivia Colman in Noel Coward's Hay Fever Friday, 14 October 2011 Howard Davies is to direct Lindsay Duncan in Coward’s Hay Fever, reuniting the director and actor who together received seven major international theatre awards for their 2001 collaboration on Coward’s Private Lives. Duncan is joined by Jeremy Northam, Kevin McNally and Olivia Colman in Coward’s sublime comedy of bad manners. Running at the Noël Coward Theatre from 10 February – 2 June 2012, Hay Fever has designs by Bunny Christie, lighting by Mark Henderson and sound by Mike Walker. Press preview performances are Thursday 23 February at 7pm, Friday 24 February and Saturday 25 February at 2.30pm and 7.30pm, with reviews embargoed until Monday 27 February 2012. Hay Fever is produced in the West End by Richard Willis, Matthew Byam Shaw for Playful Productions and Sonia Friedman Productions. Further casting will be announced shortly. Judith Bliss, once glittering star of the London stage, now in early retirement, is still enjoying life with more than a little high drama and the occasional big scene. To spice her weekend up, Judith invites a young suitor to join her in the country. However, her novelist husband, David, and her two eccentric children, Simon and Sorel, have had the same idea for themselves and any hope for private flirtation disappears as the family’s guests begin to arrive. Misjudged meetings, secret seductions and scandalous revelations all run riot at the most outrageous of all house parties. In 1920 Noël Coward made his stage debut at what was then known as the New Theatre in his own first play, I'll Leave It To You. In 1973 the theatre was renamed the Albery and subsequently, in 2001, Lindsay Duncan and Alan Rickman played Amanda and Elyot in Coward's Private Lives to great critical acclaim. In June 2006 the theatre was renamed once again as the Noël Coward Theatre when the building underwent major refurbishment including the naming of the two principal dressing rooms as Noël and Gertie, the latter being Coward’s favourite leading lady, Gertrude Lawrence. Cameron Mackintosh said: “I’m delighted to be able to have our first Coward play at the theatre since it was renamed after The Master. Truly one of Noël’s masterpieces, Hay Fever promises to be as great an evening at this theatre as Howard Davies’ Private Lives a few years ago, also starring the delicious Lindsay Duncan. I am also delighted to welcome to the salon of the Prince of Wales Theatre, Noël’s beloved grand piano on which he composed so many of his wonderful songs. His talent to amuse lives on forever.” Playwright, composer, director and actor Noël Coward wrote Hay Fever in 1924 and it was first produced a year later at the Ambassadors Theatre. Coward wrote over 50 plays during his career including Private Lives, Design for Living, Present Laughter, Blithe Spirit and Hay Fever. His many compositions include Mad Dogs and Englishmen, A Room with a View and Mrs Worthington, and his film credits include Brief Encounter, The Vortex and The Italian Job. Coward was knighted in 1970. Double Olivier award-winner Lindsay Duncan (Judith Bliss) has worked extensively for the National Theatre where her credits include Plenty, The Homecoming and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and for the Royal Shakespeare Company in productions including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Les Liaisons Dangereuses. In the West End she has been seen in The Cryptogram, That Face and Noel Coward’s Private Lives. For the Royal Court her credits include the original production of Top Girls as well as Ashes to Ashes and Mouth to Mouth. For the Almeida Theatre her credits include Celebration and The Room. On television she has recently appeared as Alex Cairns in Black Mirror – The National Anthem and The Duchess of York in Rupert Goold’s Richard II. Her other television credits also include White Heat, Dr Who, the title role in Margaret, as well as Lost in Austen, Longford, Rome, Shooting the Past and Perfect Strangers, The Rector’s Wife, A Year in Provence, GBH and Traffik. Her film credits include Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, Starter For Ten, Mansfield Park, An Ideal Husband and Prick Up Your Ears. Olivier award-wining Jeremy Northam (Richard Greatham) was most recently on stage at the Donmar Warehouse in Old Times. His other theatre credits include Love’s Labour’s Lost and The Country Wife for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Certain Young Men for the Almeida Theatre and the Voysey Inheritance at the National Theatre. He has most recently been seen on television in Stephen Poliakoff’s Glorious 39 and as Thomas Moore in The Tudors. His other television credits include White Heat and Journey’s End. Northam’s film credits include Creation, Dean Spanley, A Cock and Bull Story, Gosford Park (in which he played Ivor Novello), The Winslow Boy, An Ideal Husband, Happy Texas, Possession, Emma, The Net and Carrington. Kevin McNally’s (David Bliss) most recent stage credits were as Claudius in Hamlet and Lebedev in Ivanov, both for the Donmar Warehouse at Wyndham’s Theatre. Previously his extensive theatre credits include Boeing Boeing, The Lady in the Van, Naked, Dead Funny and The Iceman Cometh. On television he can soon be seen in ITV1’s Downton Abbey. His other television credits include New Tricks, Life On Mars, Margaret, Bloodlines, Dunkirk, Spooks, Shackleton, Rab C Nesbitt, Enigma and Diana. McNally’s many film credits include the role of Joshamee Gibbs, Captain Jack Sparrow’s first mate in The Pirates of the Caribbean films, The Raven (to be released next Spring), Valkyrie, De-Lovely, The Phantom of the Opera, Johnny English, Sliding Doors, Irish Jam and Entrapment. Olivia Colman’s (Myra Arundel) theatre credits include England People Very Nice for the National Theatre, The Three Some for the Lyric Hammersmith and A Long Day’s Journey Into Night at the Lyric Theatre. Her upcoming film credits include The Iron Lady directed by Phylidda Lloyd and Hyde Park on Hudson. Her other film credits include Tyrannosaur, Dog Altogether, Grow Your Own, I Could Never Be Your Woman and Hot Fuzz. On television she is best known for playing Sophie Chapman in the Peep Show series and Harriet Schulenburg in the Greenwing series. Her other television credits include The Baader Meinhof Gang series, Exile, Doctor Who, Beautiful People, Consuming Passion, That Mitchell and Webb Look, Hancock and Joan, Love Soup, Much Ado About Nothing, Ny-Lon and The Office. Multi award-winning Howard Davies is an Associate Director of the National Theatre where his many productions include The Cherry Orchard, The White Guard, Burnt by the Sun, The Taking Cure, Flight, Present Laughter and Mourning Becomes Electra. For the Almeida Theatre, where he was also Associate Director, his productions include Period of Adjustment, The Play About the Baby, The Iceman Cometh and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? At the Royal Shakespeare Company he produced 26 new plays in 4 years at the Warehouse Theatre which he established and ran. His other RSC credits include The General from America, Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Jail Diary of Albie Sachs. In the West End Davies’ directing credits include All My Sons, The Breath of Life and Noel Coward’s Private Lives. His many Broadway transfers include A Moon for the Misbegotten, The Iceman Cometh, My Fair Lady, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Up Up

Back to News & Press Front Row: Theatre one year on - what now? Wednesday, 17 March 2021 On the day a year ago that theatres went dark, Front Row explores what impact that has had on the industry with guests including Sonia Friedman, Emma Rice, Michael Balogun, Julian Bird and Amy Ng. Listen here . Up Up

Back to News & Press Further Casting Announced For Merrily We Roll Along Wednesday, 17 August 2022 Jonathan Groff will star as “Franklin” and Lindsay Mendez will star as “Mary” in Merrily We Roll Along , featuring music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim , a book by George Furth , and based on the original play by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart . They join the previously announced Daniel Radcliffe , who will star as “Charley”. Directed by Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman and choreographed by Tim Jackson , Merrily We Roll Along is presented by special arrangement with Sonia Friedman Productions , the Menier Chocolate Factory (Artistic Director David Babani) and Patrick Catullo . Merrily We Roll Along will begin previews at New York Theatre Workshop on November 21, 2022, and is set to open on December 12, 2022, for a limited engagement through January 8, 2023. The creative team for Merrily We Roll Along will include Catherine Jayes (The Color Purple) as music supervisor and Alvin Hough, Jr. (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical) as music director, with scenic & costume design by Soutra Gilmour (& Juliet), lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker (The Lucky Ones), and sound design by Kai Harada (Mr. Saturday Night). Casting is by Jim Carnahan , CSA & Jason Thinger , CSA , with additional casting by Taylor Williams . Dave Anzuelo (The Great Society) will serve as fight & intimacy director, with Jhanaë K-C Bonnick (Slave Play) as stage manager. Up Up

Back to News & Press Sonia Friedman featured in the telegraph magazine Tuesday, 14 April 2015 Sonia Friedman, 49, is one of Britain’s most prolific and influential theatre producers, having started her career at the National Theatre. She has produced more than 145 shows in the West End and on Broadway. At the 2014 Laurence Olivier Awards she was the first producer to win the awards for best new play (Chimerica), best new musical (Book of Mormon), best play revival (Ghosts) and best musical revival (Merrily We Roll Along) in the same year, picking up 13 in total; this year she is up for 17 at tonight’s Olivier awards ceremony. Friedman lives in a converted pub in east London with her boyfriend and two bichon frisé dogs, Teddy and Buddy. Daily routine The dogs sleep on the bed and I often wake up with Buddy sucking my ear. I’m a terrible morning person – so I stumble around making coffee, then check my BlackBerry in bed for overnight US business, before leaving for my office at the Duke of York’s Theatre. I’ve currently got 10 shows running, closing, or getting ready to transfer or tour, and many more in development, so it’s impossible to get home before 11. Piano My mother got this piano [pictured] for me, so I’m sentimental about it. She wanted to be a concert pianist, but when she was 32 her husband left her with four children under the age of 10 so she gave up her dream and did whatever she could to support us. She was an Egyptologist and a London guide, and she lectured at the National Gallery. At 83 she still teaches the piano; I’m in awe of her. As a wilful child, I resisted learning piano, but I’ve been teaching myself – it’s one of the things I do to unwind. I’m very self-conscious, though; I play when the house is empty. Childhood We were tricky children because we’re all creative and single-minded and have an issue with authority. My mother sort of gave up on trying to get us to do things normally, and let us create our own world. We’d sit around the dinner table eating scraps from the fridge while my brother Ricky, who’s a musician, made music from anything that was around. Then we’d make his music into a story, or record it with my sister Maria [Friedman, the actress] and me singing. It was heaven. Education I trained as a stage manager at the Central School of Speech and Drama, and last year they made me an honorary fellow [certificate pictured]. It’s particularly special to me because I had a pretty sketchy education. I left my first school because of bullying, was expelled from my second, left my third because we couldn’t afford the fees, and didn’t complete my A-levels because I got run over. I truanted a lot between the ages of 11 and 13 and missed a crucial period of my education, but it also formed who I am. Pub living I bought the pub about 15 years ago, when it was only half-converted and full of bar stools and pumps. There’s still a dumb waiter in the basement, which is now the room I watch films in. Over the years I’ve had a lot of people living here – nine at one point. It’s quite theatre-free, so when I come home it’s not all about work. Shed When I bought the property the garden was just a garage but there was this gorgeous little shed [click for picture ] in the corner. A few landscape gardeners have told me to take it down, but I can’t bring myself to. Inside it’s a beautiful place to sit and contemplate or read. Light-bulb moment I fell in love with theatre when I was about 13. Maria was in Oklahoma! at the Palace Theatre and invited me to watch from the wings. I sat on a stool in the prompt corner and soon realised I was much more interested in what was going on behind the scenes. Eventually I tried to sign up for an evening class in make-up, but it was full. They convinced me to take stage management and swap to make-up if anybody dropped out. But I fell in love with stage management. Bear This bear is about 110 and lived at my grandma’s house, where I spent a lot of time when I was growing up. I always slept with the teddy, and when my grandma passed away he was the only thing I wanted, even though the house was full of beautiful furniture and antiques. He doesn’t have a name; I feel like he’s still my grandma’s and I’m just looking after him. First job My first job interview was with Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright in their kitchen in the King’s Road. They wanted a stage manager for a double bill in Edinburgh. I don’t know why I was interviewed by them – it wouldn't normally happen like that. I don’t think my grandmother and mother were ever more proud than the day I got that job. Country escape What I like doing more than anything is taking long walks with my boyfriend and dogs. I have a Tudor cottage in Hampshire, which is my haven, my therapy. It’s set on hundreds of acres of private land, so we walk for miles. I go for a weekend and it feels like being away for a week. Table I produced Tom Stoppard’s masterpiece Arcadia in 2009, and this table [click for picture ] was designed for it. I immediately knew that, come the end of the run, it was coming back home with me – partly because it’s a work of art but also because Tom is one of my best friends. Now I have a constant reminder of the beauty of the man. Instincts I’ve never known how I choose shows that end up being so successful but I do have a strong hunch when something won’t work, and I’m usually right. I choose shows to nourish myself, too, and I feel a responsibility to champion certain types of work. When I first saw The Nether [a dark play about the future of the internet] I knew that it had to have a life beyond the Royal Court, but I was already so busy. I asked the director, ‘Is there really no one else that will transfer this?’ He said there wasn’t so I took it on. I will be very disappointed if it doesn’t work commercially but proud to have done it. Poster In the mid-to-late 1980s I became very passionate about the Aids cause and felt I had to do something. My friend [the actress and director] Kelly Hunter and I came up with an idea to have celebrities working in all of Covent Garden’s shops, pubs and restaurants for one day. We called it Shop Assistance [click for picture ]. We created a huge day of fundraising and awareness that led to people shaking buckets in theatres on World Aids Day, which is now one of the biggest fundraising campaigns in theatre. I’m often asked what I’m most proud of, and in many respects it’s that. I can sit in theatres on December 1 and think, ‘I did my bit.’ Click here for full article. Up Up

Back to News & Press Outer Critics Circle Awards for La Cage Aux Folles and Catherine Zeta-Jones Monday, 17 May 2010 The Broadway production of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES has won 4 Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Revival, Outstanding Director (Terry Johnson), Outstanding Actor (Douglas Hodge) and Outstanding Costume Design (Matthew Wright). Catherine Zeta-Jones has also been awarded the Outstanding Actress award for her role in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC. The award ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 27th (4PM) at Sardi's Restaurant (234 West 44th Street). Up Up

Back to News & Press Due to unprecedented demand Nice Fish extends booking period by three weeks Friday, 16 September 2016 Due to overwhelming demand, Sonia Friedman Productions is delighted to announce that the West End transfer of Mark Rylance and Louis Jenkins’ critically-acclaimed new comic play Nice Fish , will extend its run by 3 weeks, and will now play at the Harold Pinter Theatre until 11 February 2017. The West End production will open in November 2016 at the Harold Pinter Theatre, with a press night on Friday 25 November. Tickets for the extension go on sale today. Direct from sold out seasons at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University in Cambridge and St Ann’s Warehouse in New York, Academy and Bafta Award-winner Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies , The BFG , Jerusalem , Farinelli and the King ) will return to the West End to perform in the production, directed by Claire van Kampen (Farinelli and the King ). In a unique collaboration with critically-acclaimed Minnesotan contemporary prose poet Louis Jenkins, Mark Rylance draws on his teenage years in the frozen winters and culture of the American Midwest. This beguiling new play follows an ice fishing expedition where the ordinary and extraordinary collide in a sublimely playful and profound way. On a frozen Minnesota lake, the ice is beginning to creak and groan. It’s the end of the fishing season and on the frostbitten, unforgiving landscape, two old friends are out on the ice and they are angling for something big, something down there that is pure need, something that, had it the wherewithal, would swallow them whole. Keen to hook a ticket? Then come dressed as a fish or fisherman (with your fishing rod), and get yourself a complimentary ticket in a private box. Available on a first come first served basis from 6pm on the night of the performance (1.30pm for matinees). One ticket available per person. Don’t be shellfish, tell a friend! *Reel Deal Free Seats: Available on a first come first served basis from 6pm on the night of the performance (1.30pm for matinees). One ticket available per person, max 4 tickets available per performance, 2 tickets per box. Tickets located in Box A and B only. Reel Deal tickets will be allocated to customers who arrive in fancy dress at the discretion of the Box Office. Only customers who dress up as fish or fishermen will be eligible for the complimentary tickets. Up Up

Back to News & Press 2010 Oliver Awards nominations announced Friday, 19 February 2010 Following is a full list of the nominations. An asterisk (*) represents a nominee for an SFP production. BEST ACTRESS Gillian Anderson for A DOLL’S HOUSE at the Donmar Warehouse *Lorraine Burroughs for THE MOUNTAINTOP at Trafalgar Studio 1 Imelda Staunton for ENTERTAINING MR SLOANE at Trafalgar Studio 1 Juliet Stevenson for DUET FOR ONE at the Almeida theatre and Vaudeville theatre Rachel Weisz for A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at the Donmar Warehouse BEST ACTOR James Earl Jones for CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF at the Novello theatre Jude Law for HAMLET, Donmar at Wyndham’s theatre James McAvoy for THREE DAYS OF RAIN at the Apollo theatre *Mark Rylance for JERUSALEM at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo theatre *Ken Stott for A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE at the Duke of York’s theatre Samuel West for ENRON at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noël Coward theatre BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE *Hayley Atwell for A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE at the Duke of York’s theatre Michelle Dockery for BURNT BY THE SUN at the National Theatre, Lyttelton Alexandra Gilbreath for TWELFTH NIGHT at the Duke of York’s theatre Keira Knightley for THE MISANTHROPE at the Comedy theatre Rachael Stirling for THE PRIORY at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court Ruth Wilson for A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at the Donmar Warehouse BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE *Mackenzie Crook for JERUSALEM at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo theatre Rory Kinnear for BURNT BY THE SUN at the National Theatre, Lyttelton Tim Pigott-Smith for ENRON at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noël Coward theatre Eddie Redmayne for RED at the Donmar Warehouse BEST NEW PLAY ENRON by Lucy Prebble at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noël Coward theatre *JERUSALEM by Jez Butterworth at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo theatre *THE MOUNTAINTOP by Katori Hall at Trafalgar Studio 1 RED by John Logan at the Donmar Warehouse BEST NEW COMEDY CALENDAR GIRLS by Tim Firth at the Noël Coward theatre ENGLAND PEOPLE VERY NICE by Richard Bean at the National Theatre, Olivier PARLOUR SONG by Jez Butterworth at the Almeida theatre THE PRIORY by Michael Wynne at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL Irving Berlin’s ANNIE GET YOUR GUN music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields, at the Young Vic HELLO DOLLY! book by Michael Stewart, music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, based on the play ‘The Matchmaker’ by Thornton Wilder, at the Open Air theatre *A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler, suggested by a film by Ingmar Bergman, originally produced and directed on Broadway by Harold Prince, at the Garrick theatre Lionel Bart’s OLIVER! based on the original production by Sam Mendes, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane BEST NEW MUSICAL DREAMBOATS AND PETTICOATS book by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, at the Savoy theatre PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT – THE MUSICAL book by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, based on the Latent Image/Specific Films motion picture distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., at the Palace theatre SPRING AWAKENING music by Duncan Sheik, book and lyrics by Steven Sater, based on the play by Frank Wedekind, at the Novello theatre SISTER ACT music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner, at the London Palladium BEST ENTERTAINMENT ARTURO BRACHETTI: CHANGE written and directed by Sean Foley, original concept by Serge Denoncourt, based on the repertoire of Arturo Brachetti, at the Garrick theatre DERREN BROWN: ENIGMA written by Derren Brown and Andy Nyman, at the Adelphi theatre MORECAMBE by Tim Whitnall, at the Duchess theatre BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR ENTERTAINMENT Melanie C for BLOOD BROTHERS at the Phoenix theatre Patina Miller for SISTER ACT at the London Palladium Samantha Spiro for HELLO DOLLY! at the Open Air theatre *Hannah Waddingham for A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at the Garrick theatre Charlotte Wakefield for SPRING AWAKENING at the Novello theatre BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR ENTERTAINMENT Rowan Atkinson for OLIVER! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane Aneurin Barnard for SPRING AWAKENING at the Novello theatre Bob Golding for MORECAMBE at the Duchess theatre *Alexander Hanson for A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at the Garrick theatre Tony Sheldon for PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT – THE MUSICAL at the Palace theatre BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL OR ENTERTAINMENT Sheila Hancock for SISTER ACT at the London Palladium *Maureen Lipman for A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at the Garrick theatre *Kelly Price for A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at the Garrick theatre Iwan Rheon for SPRING AWAKENING at the Novello theatre BEST DIRECTOR Rupert Goold for ENRON at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noël Coward theatre Michael Grandage for HAMLET, Donmar at Wyndham’s theatre *Lindsay Posner for A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE at the Duke of York’s theatre *Ian Rickson for JERUSALEM at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo theatre Bijan Sheibani for OUR CLASS at the National Theatre, Cottesloe BEST REVIVAL *ARCADIA directed by David Leveaux at the Duke of York’s theatre CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF directed by Debbie Allen at the Novello theatre THE MISANTHROPE directed by Thea Sharrock at the Comedy theatre A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE directed by Rob Ashford at the Donmar Warehouse *A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE directed by Lindsay Posner at the Duke of York’s theatre THREE DAYS OF RAIN directed by Jamie Lloyd at the Apollo theatre BEST THEATRE CHOREOGRAPHER Matthew Bourne for OLIVER! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane Bill T Jones for SPRING AWAKENING at the Novello theatre Anthony Van Laast for SISTER ACT at the London Palladium Stephen Mear for HELLO DOLLY! at the Open Air theatre BEST LIGHTING DESIGN BURNT BY THE SUN designed by Mark Henderson at the National Theatre, Lyttelton ENRON designed by Mark Henderson the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noël Coward theatre SPRING AWAKENING designed by Kevin Adams at the Novello theatre THREE DAYS OF RAIN designed by Jon Clark at the Apollo theatre BEST SET DESIGN ENGLAND PEOPLE VERY NICE designed by Mark Thompson with animation by Pete Bishop at the National Theatre, Olivier ENRON designed by Anthony Ward at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noël Coward theatre *JERUSALEM designed by Ultz at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo theatre RED designed by Christopher Oram at the Donmar Warehouse BEST COSTUME DESIGN HELLO DOLLY! designed by Peter McKintosh at the Open Air theatre MADAME DE SADE designed by Christopher Oram, Donmar at Wyndham’s theatre THE MISANTHROPE designed by Amy Roberts at the Comedy theatre PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT- THE MUSICAL designed by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner at the Palace theatre BEST SOUND DESIGN EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR designed by Christopher Shutt at the National Theatre, Olivier *JERUSALEM designed by Ian Dickinson for Autograph at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo theatre MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN designed by Andrew Bruce and Nick Lidster for Autograph at the National Theatre, Olivier SPRING AWAKENING designed by Brian Ronan at the Novello theatre THE AUDIENCE AWARD FOR MOST POPULAR SHOW BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL music by Elton John, books and lyrics by Lee Hall at the Victoria Palace THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA music and book by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart, book and additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe at Her Majesty’s theatre WAR HORSE based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Nick Stafford at the New London theatre WE WILL ROCK YOU based on the songs of Queen, by Ben Elton in collaboration with Brian May and Roger Taylor at the Dominion theatre WICKED music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Winnie Holzman at the Apollo Victoria theatre OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN AN AFFILIATE THEATRE Soho Theatre/ Tiata Fahodzi for IYA ILE (THE FIRST WIFE) The Tricycle Theatre for THE GREAT GAME The Royal Court for COCK at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs BEST NEW OPERA PRODUCTION The Royal Opera’s DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER at the Royal Opera House The Royal Opera’s LULU at the Royal Opera House English National Opera’s PETER GRIMES at the London Coliseum The Royal Opera’s TRISTAN UND ISOLDE at the Royal Opera House OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN OPERA Anja Kampe for her performance in the Royal Opera’s DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER at the Royal Opera House Stuart Skelton for his performance in English National Opera’s PETER GRIMES at the London Coliseum Nina Steme for her performance in the Royal Opera’s TRISTAN UND ISOLDE at the Royal Opera House Michael Volle for his performances in the Royal Opera’s LULU and TRISTAN AND ISOLDE at the Royal Opera House BEST NEW DANCE PRODUCTION Russell Maliphant’s AFTERLIGHT at Sadler’s Wells Birmingham Royal Ballet’s E=MC² at Sadler’s Wells The Brandstrup – Rojo project’s GOLDBERG at the Royal Opera House Rambert Dance Company’s A LINHA CURVA at Sadler’s Wells Fabulous Beast Dance’s THE RITE OF SPRING at the London Coliseum OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE Colin Dunne for his performance in OUT OF TIME at The Barbican Pit Michael Hulls for his lighting designs for Russell Maliphant’s TWO:FOUR:TEN at the London Coliseum; and for Russell Maliphant’s AFTERLIGHT and for Ex Machina & Sylvie Guillem’s EONNAGATA at Sadler’s Wells Rambert Dance Company for an outstanding year of new work Up Up

Back to News & Press The Haunting of Hill House thrills critics in Liverpool Tuesday, 15 December 2015 ★★★★ "An undoubtedly enjoyable evening." The Guardian ★★★★★ "Intelligent, sophisticated horror – and electrifyingly scary." Merseysider Magazine ★★★★★ "A modern horror masterpiece." Low Down Magazine ★★★★★ "Hard to beat!" Downstage Centre ★★★★★ "Great storytelling and technical genius bring a classic psychological thriller to the stage with tremendous flair." Good News Liverpool ★★★★ "A genuinely chilling watch." WhatsOnStage.com ★★★★ "Hill House is a Gothic beauty." Liverpool ECHO ★★★★ "The perfect night out." Wirral Globe No-one ever visits Hill House, especially not after dark. When three strangers are invited to join the mysterious Dr Montague at the eerie house on the hill, not even their darkest dreams could have prepared them for what awaits. As their stay unfolds, they are plagued by a series of inexplicable events that propel them to the very edge of their existence. A terrifying psychological thriller that plays with our perceptions of reality, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House became one of the greatest horror films ever made (The Haunting, 1963) and her work influenced writers such as Stephen King and Neil Gaiman. This Christmas watch as Hill House stirs into life on stage, in a new adaption by Anthony Neilson (The Wonderful World of Dissocia, Realism and The Night Before Christmas) and directed by Olivier and Tony Award nominee Melly Still (Coram Boy). Up Up

Back to Productions THE POPINJAY CAVALIER Sonia Friedman Productions and Sony Pictures Entertainment announced the development of The Popinjay Cavalier , a new swashbuckling comedy written and directed by Quentin Tarantino . Set in 1830s Europe, The Popinjay Cavalier is a rambunctious comedy of deception and disguise inspired by the grand swashbuckling epics of stage and screen. A sweeping celebration of theatre and its heightened romance, told with Tarantino’s signature style and unmistakable wit, The Popinjay Cavalier is currently planned to open in London’s West End in early 2027, in a theatre to be announced, following a period of development this year. Casting, creative team, dates and all other details will be announced at a later date. Audiences are invited to sign up for more information and priority booking for The Popinjay Cavalier at www.popinjayplay.com . Social handles: @PopinjayPlay Instagram: instagram.com/popinjayplay Facebook: facebook.com/PopinjayPlay X: x.com/popinjayplay CAST To be announced CREATIVES QUENTIN TARANTINO - Writer & Director

Back to Productions HAMLET – BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH This production began performances on 5th August and closed on 31st October 2015. ★★★★ Mr Cumberbatch gives a reminder that he is a top-rank stage actor Daily Mail As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to revenge his father’s death but paralysed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state. ★★★★ He is a blazing five star Hamlet. The wait has not been in vain. Praise be. The Daily Telegraph Benedict Cumberbatch takes on the title role of Shakespeare ’s great tragedy. Directed by Lyndsey Turner (Posh, Chimerica). ★★★★★ A thrillingly epic production Metro CAST BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH – Hamlet BARRY AIRD – Soldier EDDIE ARNOLD – Danish Captain/Servant LEO BILL – Horatio SIAN BROOKE – Ophelia NIGEL CARRINGTON – Servant/Cornelius RUAIRI CONAGHAN – Player King RUDI DHARMALINGAM – Guildenstern COLIN HAIGH – Priest/Messenger PAUL HAM – Official DIVEEN HENREY – Player Queen/Messenger ANASTASIA HILLE – Gertrude CIARÁN HINDS – Claudius KOBNA HOLDBROOK-SMITH – Laertes KARL JOHNSON – Ghost of Hamlet's Father JIM NORTON – Polonius AMAKA OKAFOR – Official DANIEL PARR – Barnardo JAN SHEPHERD – Courtier MORAG SILLER – Voltemand MATTHEW STEER – Rosencrantz SERGO VARES – Fortinbras DWANE WALCOTT – Marcellus CREATIVES LYNDSEY TURNER – Director ES DEVLIN – Set Designer KATRINA LINDSAY – Costume Designer LUKE HALLS – Video JANE COX – Lighting CHRISTOPHER SHUTT – Sound JON HOPKINS – Music SIDI LARBI CHERKAOUI – Movement BRET YOUNT – Fights