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Back to News & Press Sonia Friedman: 'We will be back fully as soon as that vaccine's completely out there.' Tuesday, 8 December 2020 Read the full interview with Sonia Friedman with WhatsOnStage here . Up Up

Back to News & Press New cast announced for The Ferryman on Broadway Tuesday, 8 January 2019 Directed by Sam Mendes , The Ferryman will feature three-time Tony Award nominee Brian d’Arcy James (Next to Normal, Time Stands Still, Spotlight ) as Quinn Carney; Holley Fain (Harvey , “Gossip Girl,” “Grey’s Anatomy”) as Caitlin Carney; and Emily Bergl (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Plenty ) as Mary Carney, with Fred Applegate (The Last Ship, The Producers ) as Uncle Patrick Carney, Ralph Brown (Gemini Man, Withnail and I , “Turn”) as Muldoon, Sean Delaney (Rabbit Hole, Labyrinth, The Ferryman in the West End) as Michael Carney, Jack DiFalco (Torch Song, Marvin’s Room ) as Shane Corcoran, Ethan Dubin (Bobbie Clarly, Rancho Viejo ) as Oisin Carney, Tony Award winner Shuler Hensley (Oklahoma!, The Whale, No Man’s Land/Waiting for Godot ) as Tom Kettle, Terence Keeley (The Ferryman in the West End, Macbeth at Shakespeare’s Globe) as Diarmaid Corcoran, Collin Kelly-Sordelet (The Last Ship, Somebody’s Daughter ) as James Joseph (JJ) Carney, Ann McDonough (Admissions, Dinner at Eight ) as Aunt Patricia Carney, Julia Nightingale (Because of Winn Dixie ) as Shena Carney, and Graham Winton (Cyrano de Bergerac, The Tempest ) as Frank Magennis, along with returning cast members Charles Dale (Father Horrigan), Fionnula Flanagan (Aunt Maggie Far Away), Matilda Lawler (Honor Carney), Michael Quinton McArthur (Declan Corcoran), Willow McCarthy (Mercy Carney), Brooklyn Shuck (Nunu (Nuala) Carney), Glenn Speers (Lawrence Malone), Glynis Bell, Peter Bradbury, Will Coombs, Gina Costigan, Carly Gold, Holly Gould, Trevor Harrison Braun, Bella May Mordus, Griffin Osborne , and four adorable babies who rotate in the role of Bobby Carney, with further casting to be announced. Beginning Tuesday, April 16, Tony Award winner Blair Brown (“Orange Is The New Black,” The Parisian Woman, Copenhagen ) will assume the role of Aunt Maggie Far Away. Charles Dale, Sean Delaney, Terence Keeley, and Glenn Speers are appearing with the permission of Actors’ Equity Association. As previously, the full company will comprise 35 performers: 17 main adults, 10 covers, 4 children, and 4 babies on rotation. The season’s most acclaimed production on Broadway, Jez Butterworth ’s The Ferryman , directed by Sam Mendes , is now playing at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 W. 45th Street) and was recently extended through July 7, 2019 due to popular demand. “THE BROADWAY PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR” (NPR) according to Ben Brantley “THIS ASTONISHING, GLORIOUS, MAGNIFICENT DRAMA TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY” (The New York Times) “YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE WATCHING HUMAN DESTINY PLAY OUT BEFORE YOUR EYES…THE BEST NEW PLAY OF THE YEAR” (The Chicago Tribune) “A CRACKLING THRILLER THAT WILL SHAKE UP THE BROADWAY SEASON WITH TORNADO-LIKE FORCE” (The Hollywood Reporter) Developed by Sonia Friedman Productions and produced with Neal Street Productions and The Royal Court Theatre , The Ferryman opened at The Royal Court in May 2017 and was the fastest-selling play in the theatre’s history. The sold-out show transferred to the Gielgud Theatre in London’s West End, and ended its thrice-extended, year-long run in May 2018. The Ferryman won three 2018 Olivier Awards, including Best New Play (marking Jez Butterworth ’s second Olivier win), Best Actress Laura Donnelly , and Best Director Sam Mendes (marking his fourth Olivier win). The Ferryman also won three 2017 Evening Standard Awards, including Best Play and Best Director, as well as the Emerging Talent Award for Tom Glynn-Carney ; three 2018 Whatsonstage Awards, including Best New Play, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor for Fra Fee; and was named the Best New Play at the 2018 UK Critics’ Circle Awards. The Ferryman is set in rural Northern Ireland in 1981. The Carney farmhouse is a hive of activity with preparations for the annual harvest. A day of hard work on the land and a traditional night of feasting and celebrations lie ahead. But this year they will be interrupted by a visitor. The Ferryman ’s current company includes Paddy Considine in his stage debut as Quinn Carney, Laura Donnelly as Caitlin Carney, Catherine McCormack as Mary Carney, Dean Ashton, Glynis Bell, Peter Bradbury, Trevor Harrison Braun, Sean Frank Coffey, Will Coombs, Gina Costigan, Charles Dale, Justin Edwards, Fra Fee, Fionnula Flanagan, Tom Glynn-Carney, Carly Gold, Holly Gould, Stuart Graham, Ryder Koehle, Mark Lambert, Carla Langley, Matilda Lawler, Michael Quinton McArthur, Willow McCarthy, Conor MacNeill, Colin McPhillamy, Rob Malone, Dearbhla Molloy, Bella May Mordus, Griffin Osborne, Annie Scarfuto, Brooklyn Shuck, Glenn Speers, Rafael West Vallés , and Niall Wright . The Ferryman ’s creative team is Rob Howell (scenic and costume design), Peter Mumford (lighting design), Nick Powell (sound design and original music), Amy Ball CDG (UK Casting), Jim Carnahan , C.S.A and Jillian Cimini C.S.A . (US Casting), Tim Hoare (new cast director), Scarlett Mackmin (choreography), Benjamin Endsley Klein (resident director), Campbell Young Associates (hair, wigs and makeup design), William Berloni (animal trainer), Terry King (UK fight director), Thomas Schall (US fight director), Majella Hurley (UK dialect coach), and Deborah Hecht (US dialect coach). The Ferryman is produced on Broadway by Sonia Friedman Productions & Neal Street Productions with Ronald Frankel, Gavin Kalin Productions, Roy Furman/Benjamin Lowy, Scott M. Delman, Stephanie P. McClelland, Tulchin Bartner Productions, Ron Kastner, Starry Night Entertainment, Kallish Weinstein Creative, Scott Landis, Steve Traxler, Richard Winkler, Rona Delves Broughton/Bill Damaschke, 1001 Nights, Burnt Umber Productions, Rupert Gavin, Scott Rudin, Jamie deRoy/Catherine Adler, Sam Levy/Lauren Stevens , and Ramin Sabi/Christopher Ketner . Up Up

Back to News & Press Sonia Friedman Productions celebrates with 10 wins at the WhatsOnStage Awards Monday, 20 February 2017 Whatsonstage.com is the UK’s leading theatre news website, and these awards are the only ones nominated and voted for by the theatregoing public. SFP productions won in 10 categories, including Best New Play, congratulations to: Best Actor in a Play – Jamie Parker - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Best Supporting Actor in a Play – Anthony Boyle - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Best Supporting Actress in a Play – Noma Dumezweni - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Best Direction – John Tiffany - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Best Set Design – Christine Jones - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Best Lighting Design – Neil Austin - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Best Video Design – Finn Ross and Ash Woodward - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Best New Play - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Best Actress in a Musical - Amber Riley - Dreamgirls Best Musical Revival - Funny Girl Up Up

Back to News & Press 1984 returns to Playhouse Theatre for 12-week season Tuesday, 5 April 2016 Following a sell-out international tour, this critically and publicly acclaimed production of 1984 will return to the Playhouse Theatre in London’s West End this summer. George Orwell ’s dystopian masterpiece, adapted by Olivier Award-winner Robert Icke and Olivier Award-nominee Duncan Macmillan , will preview from 14 June 2016, with the press night on 28 June 2016. Now seen by over a quarter of a million people, this Headlong, Nottingham Playhouse and Almeida Theatre production premiered at Nottingham Playhouse in September 2013. Since opening, 1984 has played to packed houses at the Almeida Theatre, as well as throughout its two West End runs and in performances across the globe during national and international tours. 101 seats for every performance will be available for £19.84. April, 1984. 13:00. Comrade 6079, Winston Smith, thinks a thought, starts a diary and falls in love. But Big Brother is always watching. 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 directed by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan with Daniel Raggett , set and costume is 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. Robert Icke has directed numerous productions as Almeida Associate Director including his own adaptations of Uncle Vanya and Oresteia (which transferred to Trafalgar Studios, and for which he won the Olivier, Critics' Circle and Evening Standard Awards for Best Director), The Fever at The May Fair Hotel and Mr Burns . Robert’s work as a director also includes Boys and Romeo and Juliet for Headlong. He will make his National Theatre debut directing The Red Barn at the Lyttleton Theatre in October. Duncan Macmillan ’s plays include People, Places and Things (nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Play) which opened at the National Theatre and has transferred to the Wyndham’s Theatre in the West End; Every Brilliant Thing for Paines Plough on tour in the UK, New York, Australia and New Zealand; and Lungs for Paines Plough and at Schaubühne in Berlin, directed by Katie Mitchell. Up Up

Back to Productions THE NETHER This production began performances on 30th January and closed on 5th April 2015. ★★★★★ This is mind-bending, it’s ingenious and it’s ethically challenging The Times An intricate crime drama and a haunting thriller set in the year 2050, The Nether follows an investigation into the complicated, disturbing morality of identity in the digital world, and explores the consequences of making dreams a reality. ★★★★★ Brilliant production of Jennifer Haley's deeply disturbing and very responsibly provocative play The Independent Following a sold-out run at the Royal Court Theatre, Jennifer Haley ’s critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning play transfers to London’s Duke of York’s Theatre for a limited 12-week run from 30 January. The Nether offers complete freedom – a new virtual wonderland providing total sensory immersion. Just log in, choose an identity and indulge your every desire. Directed by Headlong Artistic Director Jeremy Herrin (Wolf Hall / Bring Up The Bodies, This House), this is an ‘exhilaratingly daring’ (Financial Times) production. Sonia Friedman Productions, Headlong and the Royal Court are known for bringing some of the UK’s best new plays in recent years to the West End, including Jerusalem, Chimerica, 1984, Posh, Constellations and ENRON. Sonia Friedman Productions and Scott M Delman in association with Tulchin Bartner Productions , Lee Dean & Charles Diamond , 1001 Nights , JFL Theatricals / GHF Productions , Scott & Brian Zeilinger / James Lefkowitz present “THE NETHER ” by Jennifer Haley , directed by Jeremy Herrin . ★★★★ The Telegraph, Time Out, Sunday Times, Observer, Financial Times, Mail on Sunday CAST DAVID CALDER – Doyle AMANDA HALE – Morris IVANNO JEREMIAH – Woodnut STANLEY TOWNSEND – Sims ZOE BROUGH AND ISABELLA PAPPAS – Alternated the role of Iris CREATIVES JENNIFER HALEY – Playwright JEREMY HERRIN – Director ES DEVLIN – Set Designer CHRISTINA CUNNINGHAM – Costume Designer LUKE HALLS – Video Designer PAUL PYANT – Lighting Designer NICK POWELL – Composer IAN DICKINSON – Sound Designer JULIA HORAN CDG – Casting Director DES KENNEDY – Associate Director

Back to News & Press James Graham's new short film People You May Know is released today Friday, 21 May 2021 “Future schoolchildren, studying the great pandemic of 2020, are going to be able to draw their own map of person to person contact. We have it all, it’s all stored: every human interaction, every footstep, every message.” FT Assistant Editor Janine Gibson said: “Our goal for FT Film is to continue to innovate and develop compelling stories. In collaborating with the arts world, journalists can learn new ways of communicating the real-world impact behind the facts we uncover. The results, as shown by this film, can be truly powerful.” Sonia Friedman said: “Drama, like journalism, exists to ask important questions of the contemporary world and one of those questions is our relationship to data. The advantages of our information age have rarely been as overt as in this extraordinary year, but as James Graham’s potent and unsettling theatrical short film People You May Know makes clear, they are not without disconcerting and complicated trade-offs. James is a writer with the keenest of moral compasses, and his astute dramatic eye – along with pinpoint performances by Lydia West and Arthur Darvill – brings a flush of feeling to the Financial Times’ rigorous journalistic enquiry.” Martin Tisné , Managing Director, Luminate , said: “The collective nature of data means people are more impacted by other people’s data than by data about them. As the film perfectly demonstrates: the energy readings on my thermostat, the video feed from my door bell, even my satnav routes - these impact all of us. In the era of machine learning, individual denial of consent is close to meaningless. The Covid pandemic has accelerated this datafication. Our societies urgently need collective as well as individual data rights to chart a new course for the digital future we want to see.” Watch here: https://www.ft.com/video/0685a4ba-7b0b-442b-b38e-3f73101a6943 Up Up

Back to News & Press World premiere of Stranger Things: The First Shadow Wednesday, 1 March 2023 Based on an original story by the Duffer Brothers , Jack Thorne and Kate Trefry , STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW , a new play written by Kate Trefry , will receive its world premiere in late 2023 at the Phoenix Theatre in London's West End, directed by Stephen Daldry with co-direction by Justin Martin . Produced by Netflix and Sonia Friedman Productions , the play will go on sale this spring, details of which will be announced later this month. The Duffer Brothers act as creative producers, with 21 Laps as associate producer. Priority access to tickets will be given to fans who register from today at: strangerthingsonstage.com This new play by Kate Trefry , a writer and co-executive producer for the TV series of Stranger Things , will be rooted in the mythology and world of the Netflix global phenomenon. Hawkins, 1959: a regular town with regular worries. Young Jim Hopper’s car won’t start, Bob Newby’s sister won’t take his radio show seriously and Joyce Maldonado just wants to graduate and get the hell out of town. When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy… and the shadows of the past have a very long reach. Brought to life by a multi-award-winning creative team, who take theatrical storytelling and stagecraft to a whole new dimension, this gripping new adventure will take you right back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story – and may hold the key to the end. Created by the Duffer Brothers , Stranger Things debuted on Netflix on 15 July 2016. Its fourth season (released in 2022) tops the Netflix Most Popular English TV list at #1 with 1.35 billion hours viewed; the third season released in 2019 still holds at #6 with 582.1 million hours viewed. The series has garnered over 70 awards worldwide including Emmys and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, and has been nominated for over 230 awards. Recently Stranger Things completed its record-breaking fourth season to huge acclaim, becoming the biggest premiere weekend ever for an English-language TV show on Netflix. Matt and Ross Duffer said: “We are beyond excited about Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Collaborating with the brilliant Stephen Daldry has been nothing short of inspiring, and Kate Trefry has written a play that is at turns surprising, scary, and heartfelt. You will meet endearing new characters, as well as very familiar ones, on a journey into the past that sets the groundwork for the future of Stranger Things. We’re dying to tell you more about the story but won't - it’s more fun to discover it for yourself. Can’t wait to see you nerds in London!” Sonia Friedman said: “The world and mythology of Stranger Things has enabled a rich and fertile ground for creating an incredible story for the stage. The Duffer Brothers have built a huge global following for good reason, and a world-class creative team has built on their boundless imagination to dream up an unbelievably exciting theatrical event for our audiences. Set within the canon of Stranger Things, this new play opens in London, with the West End hosting the only place in the world to experience this new story – for now. I’m thrilled to reunite with my visionary long-term collaborator Stephen Daldry. Together, with our brilliant Netflix partners, we can’t wait to welcome Stranger Things fans into theatre, and theatregoers into the realm of Stranger Things.” Greg Lombardo , VP Live Experiences for Netflix said: “Stranger Things has captured the imagination of fans around the world and we are incredibly thrilled to expand this exciting universe with Netflix’s first live stage production. With the creative talents of Matt and Ross Duffer combined with Sonia Friedman and Stephen Daldry, theatregoers will be swept up in a truly epic event worthy of Stranger Things.” STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW will be directed by Stephen Daldry with co-director Justin Martin , set design by Miriam Buether , costume design by Brigitte Reiffenstuel , lighting design by Jon Clark , sound design by Paul Arditti , illusions design by Jamie Harrison & Chris Fisher , video design by 59 Productions , movement direction by Coral Messam , wigs, hair and make-up design by Campbell Young Associates , casting by Charlotte Sutton CDG , international casting consultancy by Jim Carnahan , Gary Beestone for Gary Beestone Associates is Technical Director, with further creative team members to be announced. Further ticket information, on-sale details, performance schedule, full creative team and casting to be announced at a later date. Follow the official channels on social media for updates: Instagram.com/STOnStage Tiktok.com/STOnStage Facebook.com/StOnStage Twitter.com/StOnStage Up Up

Back to News & Press Sonia Friedman Productions wins four Tony Awards for Matthew Lopez's The Inheritance Monday, 27 September 2021 At the 74th Tony Awards ceremony last night at the Winter Garden Theatre, Sonia Friedman Productions - alongside co-producing partners Tom Kirdahy and Hunter Arnold , won four Tony Awards for The Inheritance – Best Play for Matthew Lopez , Best Direction of a Play for Stephen Daldry , Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for Andrew Burnap , and Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for Lois Smith – becoming the oldest performer to win a Tony Award for acting. This marks the 3rd consecutive win in the Best Play category for SFP, with previous wins for Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman (2019) and Jack Thorne’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2018) – mirroring the Olivier Award of each preceding year. Sonia Friedman said today, “Last night’s Tony Awards was an extraordinary event that heralded the return of Broadway and live performance following the devastating 18 month shut down due to the global pandemic. It was an honour and a privilege to share in that moment here in London, with Matthew Lopez’s extraordinary play The Inheritance , which meant so much to so many, winning four Tony Awards – Best Play for Matthew, Best Direction of a Play for Stephen and much deserved acting nods for Lois and Andrew. A big thank you to all who voted for the production, and congratulations to all the fellow nominees for their incredible work. “It also marked a moment for us at SFP with our productions winning the Best Play Award for the 3rd consecutive time following Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and The Ferryman . The achievement is testament to the hard work, dedication and resilience of our team, and our amazing investors, without whom none of this would be possible.” The Inheritance originally opened at the Young Vic Theatre in March 2018, before transferring to the Noël Coward Theatre in September 2018, winning a host of awards, including the Evening Standard Award, Critics’ Circle Award, WhatsOnStage and Olivier Award for Best New Play, as well as the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Theatre and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play. The production opened on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on 17 November 2019, with previews from 27 September, closing on 12 March 2020 when theatres closed in New York, receiving a total of 11 Tony Award nominations. Up Up

Back to News & Press Full Casting Announced for Travesties Monday, 11 December 2017 Travesties will star Tom Hollander as Henry Carr with Peter McDonald reprising his role as James Joyce from the Menier Chocolate Factory production, Seth Numrich as Tristan Tzara, Nicholas Woodeson as Lenin, Scarlett Strallen as Gwendolen, Sara Topham as Cecily, Opal Alladin as Nadya and Patrick Kerr as Bennett. Tony nominee Patrick Marber will return to direct after the sold-out productions at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory and the West End. Travesties will begin preview performances on Thursday, March 29, 2018 and opens officially on Tuesday, April 24, 2018. This is a limited engagement through Sunday, June 17, 2018 at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway (227 West 42nd Street). Travesties returns to Broadway in a "near-miraculous production" of "mind-bending splendor" (New York Times ). In 1917 Zurich, an artist – Tristan Tzara, a writer – James Joyce, and a revolutionary – Lenin, collide in a kaleidoscopic thrill-ride that's "wickedly playful, intensely entertaining, infectiously theatrical" (Time Out London ). Roundabout reunites with playwright Tom Stoppard (Indian Ink , The Real Thing ) and director Patrick Marber (Howard Katz , After Miss Julie ) for a dazzling revival from London's Menier Chocolate Factory (Sunday in the Park with George ). The creative team includes Tim Hatley (Set and Costume Design), Neil Austin (Lighting Design), Adam Cork (Sound Design and Original Music) and Polly Bennett (Movement). Roundabout is additionally pleased to welcome returning actors Sara Topham (The Importance of Being Earnest ), Patrick Kerr (The Ritz ) and Opal Alladin (Hedda Gabler ). TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets for Travesties are first made available to subscribers and donors. Whether you are interested in the best value or VIP experiences, Roundabout has a package option for you. Visit roundabouttheatre.org or call 212719-1300 for more info. Sign up for Roundabout’s email club at roundabouttheatre.org to be notified when tickets go on sale to the public. For groups of 10 or more please call 212-719-9393 x 365 or email groupsales@roundabouttheatre.org . PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE: Travesties will play Tuesday through Saturday evening at 8:00PM, Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2:00PM and Sunday matinees at 3:00PM. TRAVESTIES is made possible with Bank of America as a Proud Sponsor. Partial underwriting support for Travesties provided by Ravened Curry. Up Up

Back to Productions CALICO This production began performances on 20th February and closed on 29th May 2009. Sonia Friedman Productions , Maidstone Productions and Matthew Mitchell present “CALICO ” by Michael Hasting – directed by Edward Hall . CAST JAMIE BEAMISH – Giorgio Joyce ROMOLA GARAI – Lucia Joyce ROBERT PORTAL – Thomas MacGreevy DANIEL WEYMAN – Samuel Beckett DERMOT CROWLEY – James Joyce IMELDA STAUNTON – Nora Barnacle ISSY VAN RANDWYCK – Helen Fleischman HELEN WASHINGTON – Pianist ELAINE HEATHFIELD – Maid CREATIVES MICHAEL HASTING – Playwright EDWARD HALL – Director FRANCIS O'CONNOR – Designer BEN ORMEROD – Lighting Designer MATT MCKENZIE – Sound Designer MICK SANDS – Music CATHY MARSTON – Movement TERRY KING – Dight Director HEATHER DAVIES – Associate Director SARAH BIRD – Casting JOAN WASHINTON – Dialect Coach

Back to News & Press Meet Sonia Friedman: British Theatre’s most important LGBTQ advocate Friday, 21 December 2018 In April 2018, during an exchange backstage at the Olivier Awards, leading arts producer Sonia Friedman promised to represent the queer community in London’s West End within 12 months. “I’m of a particular age now and know that if I’m going to continue to do theatre that represents now, I’m going to have to work with younger generations to keep me stimulated and keep me fired up to tell those stories,” she acknowledged with great honesty – something perhaps unexpected for a leader of her field. “See me next year and if I haven’t done anything then wrap me over the knuckles. Seriously!” Well, it didn’t happen in 12 months but in fact six, as Sonia Friedman Productions (Sonia’s producing company, clue is in the name sweetie) opened The Inheritance , a new play by writer Matthew Lopez . A piece of art we understatedly described during its initial opening at the Young Vic Theatre as “a remarkably consistent work on gay themes that leaves you stirred, shaken and deeply moved” – and that’s putting it lightly. Anybody that’s been lucky enough to spend a day at the Noël Coward Theatre knows it’s a modern masterpiece at that, and has been unsurprisingly showered with critical acclaim even from the hardest of top line tabloids. But why was the story of the AIDS crisis and a group of gay men in New York right for 2018? In an exclusive interview, Sonia Friedman speaks about why diverse and minority casting is to always be embraced, how staging The Inheritance holds a personal connection to her and the friends lost in the 80s AIDS crisis, and how she will always be there for the queer community to ensure our voices and stories don’t ever become invisible. Sonia Friedman is a true ally – fact. How would you describe who Sonia Friedman is? I’m a theatre producer who unusually, for my profession, loves all genres of work; musical, play, modern classic, revival, Shakespeare, cabaret and modern music. Because I’m obsessed with new work and new writing, and because I like to think of myself as quite musical and also politicised and plugged in. I’m at my best and happiest creating and developing and finding new stories to be told. Is it a requirement that your work must always have a second meaning then? It’s giving audiences work they don’t know they want to see. It means I’m always trying to plug myself into what people are perhaps talking about but thinking about, but that’s not necessarily in our zeitgeist or on our stages. As I get older, I’ve got history to fall back on and my emotional range is wider and my life experience is wider so the stories I’m interested in are growing. As a producer, I’m just so curious. I never stop wondering what on Earth is going on with our world. As we talk right now, I can’t imagine a more confused or difficult or challenging but also positive place that we’re living in – think I might have said that ten years ago. Is it getting worse or getting better? I don’t know. Have you been tempted recently to present work that discusses the current political dramas internationally? Trump, for example. I don’t know that audiences here and now want to sit in the theatre and see something about Trump because we’re reading it everyday. We need our writers and our artists to take us on a different journey and make us think about Trump perhaps in a different way, but through the lens of something else. It’s much more satisfying for me, and if you were a writer pitching a play about him, I would argue that play would be out of date next month. Somebody will do that play, but it’s interesting it hasn’t happened yet. I don’t know how we respond to what’s happening now, other than looking backwards. Do you look and listen to the minority voices around you regularly? Oh gosh, yes. It’s very interesting, as when preparing for this conversation, I was looking back over my work of the last few years and how I’ve changed. There’s no question that, in my mind for inclusion and diversity, it’s been a massive shift. Not just with me but the industry. Even four or five years ago, it wouldn’t have been a conscious decision of mine with a director to say that ‘diversity is just a given’. Then it would have been unusual. If you go back even further, eight or nine years ago, the diversity that happened within my company – people were cast because of their colour, not regardless. I look at now and it’s so changed and I think as an industry, as opposed to being ashamed or berating ourselves, we should celebrating how we are moving forward and checking each other and ensuring we’re better at that and calling each other out when we’re not. If we go on outdated stereotypes, LGBTQ focused pieces shouldn’t work commercially for the West End, but they do. Angels in America at the NT last year, for example, was a huge success. Angels is quite rightly a modern classic and it changed my life – and I’m not gay. It changed my life as to what is possible in theatre. It took me to places I didn’t know existed. Angels is one of the great plays ever written. It’s a big ol’ piece. It will, I hope for many decades, be part of the canon. I didn’t produce it. Do you wish you did? Erm… do you know what, I don’t wish I produced it because it meant I wouldn’t have seen it. I feel like I’m doing my Angels now with The Inheritance . We’re giving our answer to Angels now. Have you noticed attitudes have changed since you began producing a play and subject matter like The Inheritance? I have a very personal relationship to the play and subject matter. I was very involved in the AIDS crisis in the 80s. When I was a young stage manager at the National Theatre, I volunteered with the Terrence Higgins Trust and spent a good two years in 1986/87 through to 1989. I worked pretty much full time and the National Theatre were great and gave me a lot of time off, to do whatever I could do. It ended up being, without question, the most important and informative time of my life. What started it was seeing people in my industry dying. I was frightened of it like many people were, but rather than running away from it, I ran towards it to try and understand and help because there was something within me that needed to reach out. I created an enormous amount of events and benefits. I didn’t even know I was producing. We went for it and so doing that changed my life. I’ll never, ever think of the world in the same way as when I was young. I still am haunted by the memory of how many young men I would see either in hospital beds or on their own with one bar of heating and they couldn’t afford anything more. The best I could do was write them a cheque from the money we’d raised to pay for the electricity bill for another month. To know that I did the tiniest, just the tiniest bit to help, I will always be very thankful I was there at that time. Without exaggeration, I was going to a funeral a week. I then went back to work. Well, the truth is I had a meltdown. I think you can only face so much devastation for so long. I then went back to my day job and, for a lot of people who were around and particularly the men who’s lovers died, God knows how they were dealing with it. I was able to walk away in one sense but it’s unfinished business in my head, and The Inheritance is by no means the close of a chapter but is responding to that. I’ve been looking for this story because there are many, many wonderful plays about that time, but what is the play that is about now, about then? This is it. Just talking about it now, I can’t stop thinking about the 80s and what the gay community went through, and how staggering it is that we are where we are now. How good it is now where we are in many ways. So how did you two end up finding each other? The Inheritance sort of just landed on my lap like a gift. A gift from above. I wasn’t meant to be producing it, but it was a series of random circumstances with me doing it because of my relationship with Stephen Daldry (The Inheritance director). Stephen was around at my house and he read my Margaret’s monologue at the end where she’s looking back on the time, like I did, seeing so many young men dying. He read me this monologue and at the end of it, I said to him, ‘I’ll do anything, literally anything, to be involved in this. Please.’ I felt I had to justify my credentials because I’m not a gay man. I literally can’t stop thinking about the 80s at the moment. I lost my mother recently and I’m also thinking about the past a lot as well. It will speak to my generation and people around at the time, but more importantly young gay men. I’ve talked to quite a few gay men in my office and around my life, and what has really surprised me how unaware some of them are about what happened. About what really happened. Being involved in The Inheritance , these same young gay men have said to me, ‘This is the first time they’ve seen a play ever that is speaking to me. It’s talking directly to me’. The fact they say and feel that, I know this play is a play for a generation and I feel it very, very, very deeply. While it’s a challenge at an eight hour piece of theatre, I’m absolutely convinced I’m involved with a piece of history. I think anyone that’s been to see it knows that. Genuinely. I hope so. You’re a strong character. Did you have a time in your career when you felt like giving up? Gosh. I’ve never been asked that question before. As we’re having an honest conversation, quite recently just after my mum died. So, February, March, April? Because my mum was my greatest influence in my life and my inspiration, she was who I sort of did it for really. I worked very, very hard and long hours and would always check in with her. If not by phone, text, letter. She wrote me poems every day. I didn’t realise until she died that she was my anchor and all my work here – the narrative that runs through it is my mum. I remember where she was when she saw every piece and her reaction. That was suddenly out of my life and I didn’t really know. It was grief. That’s an honest answer and I’m not through it yet, but plays like The Jungle and The Inheritance specifically right now in my life… something was in the stars that aligned so that they happened right now because they’ve made me appreciate my life in a way, and working life in a way that’s so essential when I’m going through this crisis. It’s a balancer. Yes, I’ve lost my mum, but look at the story we’re telling in The Inheritance . Get it in order, Friedman. And finally, alongside everything you’ve mentioned above, you’ve also put a musical version of Legally Blonde on stage, brought Dreamgirls to London, and you’re now working on the stage adaptation of Mean Girls. Are you ready to claim your gay icon status?! It would be my greatest honour. It would be. Why is Mean Girls so… Do you want it in London? I mean… if ever you’ve got a hit, there it is. Can you imagine what it must be like for me to work with Tina Fey. I’m in the writing room with Tina Fey and I pinch myself. She also might be a gay icon but she’s my icon, too. She’s everybody’s icon. I was phoned up by the producer of the film and asked if I would come in and join him on Mean Girls . It’s been very exciting and obviously there’s conversations about bringing it here, and Tina Fey has said she’d be very excited to bring it to London, so it’ll happen. Up Up

Back to Productions JUMPERS This production began performances on 14th November 2003 and closed on 6th March 2004. You get striptease, farcical misunderstanding, soupy songs, acrobatics, erudite jokes, a murder and a spoof detective! The Times George Moore believes in good, but those around him aren't so sure... Stoppard’s Jumpers is justly celebrated for its theatrical razzle dazzle and joie de vivre. Blissfully funny. Daily Telegraph Simon Russell Beale (a three-time Olivier Award-winner) confirms his status as one of this country's greatest stage actors as he takes on the role of the beleaguered moral philosopher. Starring opposite him as his glamorous wife Dorothy, is Essie Davies , winner of the 2003 Olivier Award for best supporting actress in A Streetcar Named Desire. Sonia Friedman Productions and National Angels Ltd present the Nation. A high-voltage mixture of farce and philosophical argument, of sizzling single line and bravura staging. The Observer CAST ESSIE DAVIES – Dorothy ELIZA LUMLEY – Secretary JOHN ROGAN – Crouch SIMON RUSSELL BEALE – George NICKY HENSON – Archie NICHOLAS WOODESON – Bones JEAN-FELIX CALLENS – Jumper (Usher) JONOTHAN CAMPBELL – Jumper (Greystoke) GARY CROSS – Jumper LEO KAY – Jumper (McFee) KARL MAGEE – Jumper DODGER PHILLIPS – Jumper PHIL SEAMAN – Jumper ASHLEY STUART – Jumper LEWIS YOUNG – Jumper KAJ FITZGIBBON – Swing JOSEPH J. LEIGH – Swing CREATIVES TOM STOPPARD – Playwright DAVID LEVEAUZ – Director VICKI MORTIMER – Set Designer NICKY GILLIBRAND – Costume Designer PAULE CONSTABLE – Lighting Designer CORIN BUCKERIDGE – Music AIDAN TREAYS – Choreographer JOHN LEONARD – Sound Designer DICK STRACKER & SVEN ORTEL – Video Designers