Back to Productions CHIMERICA This production began performances on 6th August and closed on 13th October 2013. ★★★★★ Epic, exhilarating, exceptional Daily Telegraph Tiananmen Square, 1989. As tanks roll through Beijing and soldiers hammer on his hotel door, Joe – a young American photojournalist – captures a piece of history. When a cryptic message is left in a Beijing newspaper more than 20 years later, Joe is driven to discover the truth behind the unknown hero he captured on film. Who was he? What happened to him? And could he still be alive? ★★★★★ Lucy Kirkwood’s magnificent drama. A towering achievement Evening Standard The Headlong and Almeida Theatre's five-star sold-out co-production of Lucy Kirkwood 's new play Chimerica will play at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 6 August for a strictly limited 11-week run. Directed by Lyndsey Turner , Chimerica received its world premiere last month at the Almeida Theatre where it has subsequently been acclaimed by critics and audiences alike. Sonia Friedman Productions , Tulchin Bartner Productions , Jean Doumanian and the Almeida Theatre , in association with 1001 Nights , Scott M Delman , JFL Theatricals /Tanya Link Productions , Burnt Umber Productions , Michael Ostin , present The Headlong & Almeida Theatre co-production of “CHIMERICA ” by Lucy Kirkwood . ★★★★★ A dazzling, thoughtful, wonderfully ambitious drama Financial Times CAST STEPHEN CAMPBELL MOORE – Joe Schofield BENEDICT WONG – Zhang Lin CLAUDIE BLAKLEY – Tessa Kendrick ELIZABETH CHAN – Liuli/Jennifer VERA CHOK/WENDY KWEH – Michelle/Marcy Chang/Deng KARL COLLINS – David/Peter/Paul/Office Hyte TREVOR COOPER – Frank NANCY CRANE – Susanna Schofield SEAN GLIDER – Mel Stanwyck SARAH LAM/LIZ SUTHERLAND – Feng Meihiu/Ming Xiaoli ANDREW LEUNG – Young Zhang Lin/Benny DAVID K S TSE – Zhang Wei/Wang Pengsi ROSIE ARMSTRONG – Ensemble TINA CHIANG – Ensemble CHRIS HOLLNSHEAD – Ensemble MATH SAMS – Ensemble KEVIN SHEN – Ensemble CREATIVES LUCY KIRKWOOD – Playwright LYNDSEY TURNER – Director ES DEVLIN – Set Designer TIM LUTKIN – Lighting Designer CAROLYN DOWNING – Sound Designer FINN ROSS – Video Designer CHRISTINA CUNNINGHAM – Costume Designer

Back to News & Press Sonia Friedman on ‘What does the BBC mean to you?’ Sunday, 20 February 2022 Sonia Friedman and others tackle some difficult questions about the corporation’s prospects to mark its centenary.What does the BBC mean to you? Sonia Friedman, theatre impresario ‘The BBC is our constant. It makes me feel safe. It ensures an uninterrupted, essential thread runs through our media, news, culture, keeping us interconnected, across space and around the clock. It’s at its best when it puts storytellers at its centre, and if it remains committed to and captivated by this country’s unique creative culture, it will be with us for another 100 years.’ Read the full article here ›› Up Up

Back to News & Press Sony Pictures Classics and Fathom Entertainment to Premiere Broadway Hit "MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG" in Theatres Worldwide on December 5 Wednesday, 16 July 2025 Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they will premiere worldwide MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, the live filmed version by director Maria Friedman of the smash four-time Tony Award-winning musical performance, in collaboration with Fathom Entertainment, the leading specialty distributor of content to theatrical partners worldwide, beginning December 5, 2025. In addition to the United States, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG is anticipated to be available theatrically in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and additional countries and territories across the globe. The immersive film showcases the brilliant and groundbreaking vision of Friedman and stars Tony Award winners Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez, alongside Krystal Joy Brown, Katie Rose Clark and Reg Rogers. Spanning three decades, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG charts the turbulent relationship between composer Franklin Shepard and his two lifelong friends — writer Mary and lyricist & playwright Charley. Originally produced on Broadway in 1981, then becoming an inventive cult-classic ahead of its time, the musical features some of Stephen Sondheim’s most celebrated and personal songs. The 2023-2024 Broadway production, directed by Friedman, redefined the show for a new era, bringing Stephen Sondheim’s intricate score and George Furth’s book to vivid life with extraordinary depth and clarity. MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG shattered the Hudson Theatre’s house record on Broadway, solidifying its place as a landmark event in Broadway history. The critically acclaimed production won the 2024 Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical and Best Orchestrations. Additionally, in London, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG garnered the most five-star reviews in West-End history, with Friedman’s production also winning the Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival. MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG is produced by Sonia Friedman, David Babani, Patrick Catullo, F. Richard Pappas, RadicalMedia’s Jon Kamen, and Dave Sirulnick. Executive Producers include Meredith Bennett, No Guarantees Productions, Scott Abrams, Jonathan Corr, Mary Maggio, Jeff Romley, Tony Yurgaitis, Andrew Cohen, Amanda Lipitz, Henry Tisch alongside Co-executive producer Stephanie P. McClelland. Karla Zambrano and Alec Sash serve as Supervising Producers. Up Up

Back to News & Press The WhatsOnStage Podcast: Special guest Sonia Friedman talks career-firsts, the hardest shows she’s worked on and why Broadway’s model is broken Friday, 6 June 2025 Welcome to this week’s episode of the WhatsOnStage Podcast! With Tony Award-winning record breaker Stereophonic in previews in the West End, chief critic Sarah Crompton and managing editor Alex Wood hopped over to Sonia Friedman Productions offices to talk to Friedman in a wide-ranging interview. Topics include the state of new writing in the West End, star casting, why the New York model is so hard and why Broadway box office reporting is causing headaches all round. Plus – how she’s trying to find the next generation of audiences with Hugh Jackman, and what exactly about the future of UK theatre concerns her! The podcast can be listened to on various streaming platforms – including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Audible. Watch on Youtube here . Up Up

Back to News & Press Sonia Friedman joins Ian Rickson as a featured guest on his What I Love podcast Thursday, 5 November 2020 After discussing the devastation and uncertainty the pandemic has wrought on the theatre world, including the premature closure of their production of Uncle Vanya , they consider Sonia's choices: the song ‘The Golden Days’ written for and performed by her sister Maria Friedman, which illuminates memories of their family history; the psychological insight of Disney-Pixar film ‘Inside Out'; and Kathleen Raine’s rich and meditative poem ‘Change’. ‘What I Love’ is created and hosted by Ian Rickson. The theme music is by PJ Harvey. This episode was recorded by James Hingley at the Palace Theatre, London. Photography by Helen Murray. Series Producer Ben Walker. Executive Producer Robert Delamere. Produced for Storyglass by Sarah Murray. Listen here . Works discussed: ‘The Golden Days’ by Maria Friedman (Carlton Sounds Records) ‘Inside Out’ – dir. Pete Docter; prod. Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios ‘Change’ by Kathleen Raine, first published by the Temenos Review Up Up

Back to News & Press Sonia Friedman celebrates with 20 Olivier Award nominations Monday, 29 February 2016 Sonia Friedman said: “It is extraordinary. I want to take the chance to congratulate all the writers, performers, composers, directors, designers, lighting designers, sound designers, musicians, co-producers, investors and of course my team at SFP. I also want to say a very big thank you to all the immensely talented artists involved in all the productions we produced and co-produced in 2015 /2016. Today I am feeling very proud. ” Full list of SFP nominees: Best Revival Hamlet at Barbican Theatre Best New Comedy A Christmas Carol at Noel Coward Theatre Virgin Atlantic Best New Play Farinelli and the King at Duke of York’s Theatre Mastercard Best New Musical Bend It Like Beckham at Phoenix Theatre Best Actor Benedict Cumberbatch for Hamlet at Barbican Theatre Mark Rylance for Farinelli and the King at Duke of York’s Theatre Best Actress Lia Williams for Oresteia at Almeida Theatre Best Director Robert Icke for Oresteia at Almeida Best Actress in a Musical Natalie Dew for Bend It Like Beckham at Phoenix Theatre Best Actress in a Supporting Role Melody Grove for Farinelli and the King at Duke of York’s Theatre Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical Preeya Kalidas for Bend It Like Beckham at Phoenix Theatre Best Costume Design Jonathan Fensom for Farinelli and the King at Duke of York’s Theatre Katrina Lindsay for Bend It Like Beckham at Phoenix Theatre Blue-I Theatre Technology Award for Best Set Design Hildegard Bechtler for Oresteia at Almeida Theatre Es Devlin for Hamlet at Barbican Theatre Jonathan Fensom for Farinelli and the King at Duke of York’s Theatre White Light Award for Best Lighting Design Natasha Chivers for Oresteia at Almeida Theatre Best Sound Design Christopher Shutt for Hamlet at Barbican Theatre Autograph Sound Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music Bend It Like Beckham – Music by Howard Goodall, Lyrics by Charles Hart and Orchestrations by Howard Goodall and Kuljit Bhamra at Phoenix Theatre Farinelli and the King – Claire van Kampen for Musical Arrangements, the Musicians and Iestyn Davies and the singers who alternated the singing role of Farinelli at Duke of York’s Theatre Up Up

Back to Productions MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG – NEW YORK This production began performances on 21st November 2022 and closed on 21st January 2023. Intoxicating. Revelatory. They said it couldn't be done. But they've done it. And not only merrily. Magnificently. The Washington Post Spanning three decades in the entertainment business, Merrily We Roll Along charts the turbulent relationship between composer Franklin Shepard and his two lifelong friends — writer Mary and lyricist & playwright Charley. An inventive, cult-classic ahead of its time, Merrily We Roll Along features some of Stephen Sondheim’s most celebrated and personal songs. Maria Friedman's staging brings the intelligence of the songs fully alive. And with Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez as the show's central trio of backward-tumbling friends, it is perfectly cast. The New York Times Featuring music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim , a book by George Furth , and based on the original play by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart . 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 , and will star Daniel Radcliffe as Charley. Merrily We Roll Along is planned for late 2022 at New York Theatre Workshop (79 E 4th Street, New York, NY 10003). Maria Friedman first directed the musical at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory which subsequently transferred to the Harold Pinter Theatre to critical acclaim—the most five-star reviews in West End history—winning the Olivier Award for Best Musical. A masterpiece. I watched director Maria Friedman's stunning, revelatory production through a kind of moist-eyed haze, mind racing, heart beating and all that stuff. Chicago Tribune CAST DANIEL RADCLIFFE JONATHAN GROFF LINDSAY MENDEZ CREATIVES MARIA FRIEDMAN – Director SOUTRA GILMOUR – Scenic & Costume Designer AMITH CHANDRASHKER – Lighting Designer KAI HARADA – Sound Designer COOKIE JORDAN – Hair & Wig Designer JONATHAN TUNICK – Orchestrations CATHERINE JAYES – Music Supervisor ALVIN HOUGH, JR. – Music Director JIM CARNAHA, CSA & JASON THINGER, CSA – Casting

Back to Productions DR SEMMELWEIS This production opened on 20th January and closed on 12th February 2022. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ A force to behold The Sunday Times What does it take to change the world? Confronted by the terrible death toll of childbed fever in 19th-century Vienna, maverick Doctor Semmelweis makes a discovery that could save hundreds of thousands of new mothers. But when the medical establishment questions his methods, rejects his theory and doubts his sanity, the controversial surgeon finds that being a pioneer is not enough. Years later, he is haunted by the ghosts of the women he failed to save. Is it too late to convince the medical establishment to see the truth? And if he tries what will be the cost? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ A touching lament written in movement Daily Mail A Bristol Old Vic production in association with Sonia Friedman Productions , the National Theatre and Shakespeare Road . ★ ★ ★ ★ Tom Morris' lovingly crafted production The Telegraph CAST MARK RYLANCE – Ignaz Semmelweis ROSEANNA ANDERSON – Marja Seidel/Baroness Maria-Teresa JOSHUA BEN-TOVIM – Hospital Porter/Death MEGAN MAY CAMERON – Beatriz Pfieller JACKIE CLUNE – Anna Müller MEGUMI EDA – Aiko Eda SANDY GRIERSON – Jakob Kolletschka FELIX HAYES – Derdinand von Hebra SUZY HALSTEAD – Violet-May Blackedge DANIEL YORK LOH – Karl von Rokitansky ENYI OKORONKWO – Franz Arneth CLEMMIE SVEAAS – Lisa Elstein THALISSA TEIXEIRA – Maria Semmelweis MILLE THOMAS – Agnes Barta ALAN WILLIAMS – Johann Klein HAIM CHOI – Suk Hee Apfelbaum (Violin) COCO INMAN – Sarah Schmidt (Violin) KASIA ZIMINSKA – Eszter Horowitz (Viola) SHIZUKU TATSUNO – Oshizu Yukimura (Cello) EWAN BLACK – Walking Cover DANANN MCALEER – Walking Cover STEFANIE MUELLER – Walking Cover CREATIVES Based on an original idea by MARK RYLANCE STEPHEN BROWN in collaboration with MARK RYLANCE – Writers TOM MORRIS – Director RICHARD HOWELL – Lighting Designer ADRIAN SUTTON – Music MARTIN MCKELLAN – Voice and Dialect Work VICTOR LIRIO – Assistant Director KATIE THACKERAY – Company Stage Manager CAITLIN RAVENSCROFT – Assistant Stage Manager TI GREEN – Set and Costume Designer ANTONIA FRANCESCHI – Choreography JON NICHOLLS – Sound Designer CLAIRE O'REILLY – Associate Director CATHY HILL – Costume Supervisor LUCY TOPHAM – Deputy Stage Manager

Back to Productions 1984 – LONDON This production began performances on 12th June and closed on 5th November 2015. ★★★★★ Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan have pulled off something tremendous The Observer April, 1984. Comrade 6079, Winston Smith, thinks a thought and starts a diary. But Big Brother is always watching, and the door to Room 101 can swing open in the blink of an eye. Remarkable. Rendered with clinical, spine-tingling finesse The Telegraph The definitive book of the 20th century is re-examined in a radical, award-winning adaptation exploring surveillance, identity and why Orwell’s vision of the future is as relevant now as ever. 1984 is written and directed by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan , with set and costume designed by Chloe Lamford , with lighting designed by Natasha Chivers , sound designed by Tom Gibbons and video designed by Tim Reid . 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. Sonia Friedman Productions , Eleanor Lloyd Productions and Tulchin Bartner Productions in association with 1001 Nights , Rupert Gavin , JFL Theatricals , Scott M. Delman , Scott & Brian Zeilinger /James Lefkowitz present The Headlong , Nottingham Playhouse and Almeida production of 1984 . ★★★★★ Never lets the audience off the hook The Guardian CAST SIMON COATES – Parsons TIM DUTTON – O'Brien STEPHEN FEWELL – Charrington JANINE HAROUNI – Julia CHRISTOPHER PATRICK NOLAN – Martin BEN PORTER – Syme MATTHEW SPENCER – Winston MANDI SYMONDS – Mrs Parsons CREATIVES Adapted and directed by ROBERT ICKE and DUNCAN MACMILLAN CHLOE LAMFORD – Designer NATASHA CHIVERS – Lighting Designer TOM GIBBONS – Sound Designer TIM REID – Video Designer GINNY SCHILLER CDG – Casting Director

Back to News & Press Ghosts available on digital theatre from 18 September Tuesday, 19 August 2014 London, UK: DIGITAL THEATRE is delighted to announce its next title; Richard Eyre’s five-star, multi award-winning revival production of Ibsen’s Ghosts starring Olivier Award-winners LESLEY MANVILLE and JACK LOWDEN will be available to buy and watch online around the world from Thursday 18 September 2014. Continuing our mission to increase accessibility to the arts for everyone, Ghosts will also be available to rent or buy with the option of captioning provided by STAGETEXT. Robert Delamere, Co-Founder and Creative Director of DIGITAL THEATRE said: “Richard Eyre’s adaptation of Ghosts is an immensely powerful, affecting production with Lesley Manville giving one of the best central performances I have ever seen. I am thrilled to have worked closely with Sir Richard in translating the play from the stage to the screen, so that audiences around the world can experience this outstanding work of art and continue the dialogue around it on a global scale”. Helene Alving has spent her life suspended in an emotional void after the death of her cruel but outwardly charming husband. She is determined to escape the ghosts of her past by telling her son, Oswald, the truth about his father. But on his return from his life as a painter in France, Oswald reveals how he has already inherited the legacy of his father’s dissolute life. This acclaimed production sold out at the Almeida before transferring to the Trafalgar Studios where it played to packed houses, extending its original RUN due to popular demand. On 26 June, for one night only, Ghosts was screened in over 275 cinemas throughout the UK and Ireland. LESLEY MANVILLE is a multi award-winning theatre, film and television actor. She was last on stage in Grief at the National Theatre, where she has previously been seen in Her Naked Skin, Pillars of the Community, The Alchemist and His Dark Materials. Other theatre credits include Six Degrees of Separation and All About My Mother at the Old Vic, Top Girls, Serious Money, The Pope’s Wedding and Three Sisters at the Royal Court and for the Royal Shakespeare Company she has been seen in The Wives’ Excuse, Les Liaisons Dangereuses and As You Like It. On screen, Lesley has regularly collaborated with Mike Leigh in films including Another Year, All or Nothing, Topsy-Turvy, Secrets and Lies and High Hopes. Her other film credits include The Christmas Candle, Molly Moon, Maleficent, Romeo and Juliet, Spike Island and A Christmas Carol. On television her credits include An Adventure in Space and Time, The Man Who Would Be Bond, Mayday, Cranford, North and South, Bodily Harm, Other Peoples' Children, Promoted To Glory, The Cazalets, David Copperfield, Painted Lady, The Bite, Holding On, Tears Before Bedtime, A Statement of Affairs, Top Girls, Grown-Ups and The Firm. RICHARD EYRE’s credits at the Almeida include The Dark Earth and the Light Sky, David Hare’s The Judas Kiss - his first production after leaving the National Theatre where he was Director from 1988-1997 - The Novice and Hedda Gabler. His more recent work as a director for the stage includes the award-winning production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible on Broadway, the world premieres of Nicholas Wright’s Vincent in Brixton and The Reporter both for the National Theatre, Noël Coward’s Private Lives on Broadway and the musical Mary Poppins. Most recently he directed Stephen Ward The Musical at the Aldwych Theatre, Quartermaine’s Terms at the Wyndham’s Theatre and The Pajama Game for Chichester Festival Theatre, currently playing at the Shaftesbury Theatre. For television his credits include Changing Stages - a BBC series on the history of theatre in the 20th century, which he co-wrote with Nicholas Wright and presented. Eyre directed the BAFTA award-winning Tumbledown for the BBC and directed the critically-acclaimed Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 for the BBC’s 2012 Shakespeare Season. His film credits include Iris, Stage Beauty, Notes on a Scandal and The Other Man. Ghosts was produced in the West End by Sonia Friedman Productions and the Almeida Theatre with Rupert Gavin, Tanya Link Productions and JFL Theatricals/GHF Productions in association with 1001 Nights. For more information, and to register your interest in Ghosts visit http://www.digitaltheatre.com/production/details/henrik-ibsen-ghosts Up Up

Back to News & Press Initial casting and production team announced for the world premiere of Tom Stoppard's new play Leopoldstadt Thursday, 24 October 2019 The cast includes Sebastian Armesto, Jenna Augen, Rhys Bailey, Joe Coen, Mark Edel-Hunt, Clara Francis, Ilan Galkoff, Caroline Gruber, Sam Hoare, Natalie Law, Noof McEwan , Dorothea Myer-Bennett , Jake Neads , Aaron Neil , Alexander Newland , Yasmin Paige , Adrian Scarborough , Griffin Stevens , Ed Stoppard, Luke Thallon, Eleanor Wyld and Alexis Zegerman . The children’s cast, comprising three sets of five children, includes Toby Cohen, Zachary Cohen, Olivia Festinger, Tamar Laniado, Maya Larholm, Daniel Lawson, Louis Levy, Libby Lewis, Jack Meredith, Chloe Raphael, Beatrice Rapstone and Montague Rapstone . Further adult and children’s casting will be announced at a later date. Sonia Friedman said: “We are thrilled to announce initial casting for Leopoldstadt, the remarkable new play from one of the world’s greatest living playwrights. Our company of 41 actors will come together in Patrick Marber’s production, to tell Tom Stoppard’s powerful and humane story spanning several decades during one of the most turbulent periods in world history. Focussing on endurance, survival, assimilation and resilience, it is a privilege to be producing this potent and timely new work.” Set designs are by Richard Hudson , with costume designs by Brigitte Reiffenstuel , lighting by Neil Austin , sound and original music by Adam Cork , and movement by EJ Boyle . Casting is by Amy Ball CDG , with children’s casting by Verity Naughton . Up Up

Back to Productions IS HE DEAD This production began performances on 9th December 2007 and closed on 9th March 2008. Is He Dead? is a fast-paced play about a struggling artist who stages his own death to drive up the price of his paintings. As the riotous scheme unfolds, Twain poses daring questions about fame, greed and the value of art, and pokes his signature, mischievous fun at everyone involved. In this newly discovered Mark Twain comedy, the original master of American humor dishes out a sly critique of the art world with acerbic wit and social commentary well ahead of his time. CAST NORBERT LEO BUTZ CREATIVES MARK TWAIN MICHAEL BLAKEMORE