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Back to News & Press THE STAGE: Sonia Friedman: Ambition and risk-taking suffer when production costs increase Thursday, 12 March 2026 Read the original article here . Sonia Friedman has warned that rising production costs are denting ambition and resulting in "fewer risks" being taken. The producer was addressing an event in parliament on 12th March to mark the publication of a report this week by the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, which warned that production costs have doubled in a decade . "The reason why there is so much stress and talk around ticket pricing is because the costs are just escalating in front of us," the producer of shows including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Paddington the Musical said. Friedman also weighed in on mounting calls for new writing to be supported, urging politicians at the event hosted by SOLT and UK Theatre to protect the development pipeline "because that is where work begins". SOLT and UK Theatre’s latest annual report, entitled Theatre in the UK 2026 , found that production costs had doubled in the past 10 years across its membership. Among its other findings were record attendance of the West End and a "marked deterioration" in theatres’ financial confidence, with 36% of all theatre organisations and 51% of subsidised theatre organisations anticipating a deficit this year. Toasting the publication of the report with industry leaders and policymakers in parliament, Friedman reflected: "Demand for theatre has returned and it’s as strong as ever, if not as strong as it’s ever been. But the system that produces it is under real strain." The producer raised the issue of soaring production costs in her speech as a significant example of the pressure the sector was under, sharing that a show that she had put on a decade ago was now costing her double as much to revive as an identical production in the same theatre. "We can’t keep up with it. We are trying," she said. "Every producer in this room and every producer we work with is feeling that pressure. Smaller organisations are even more exposed." Friedman added: "When costs rise this sharply, ambition becomes so much harder, fewer risks are taken, because every production brings with it a creative risk." The producer appealed to policymakers to support producers to continue to take a punt on new work and support regional and subsidised theatres, where it was often developed. "I personally implore you, protect the development pipeline, new writing and regional stages, because that is where the work begins," she said. "Support international touring, so British work can compete and succeed globally, because when British theatre succeeds, it does far more than entertain. It creates jobs, it builds global audiences and it shares the creativity, the values and the empathy of this country with the world." Up Up

Back to Productions SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE This production began performances on 1st October 2014 and closed on 18th April 2015. It’s got the lot! A stirring love story, it’s funny and genuinely moving. A joyous celebration of theatre. Daily Telegraph Promising young playwright Will Shakespeare is tormented by writer’s block until he finds his muse in the form of passionate noblewoman, Viola De Lesseps. Their forbidden love draws many others, including Queen Elizabeth, into the drama and inspires Will to write the greatest love story of all time, Romeo and Juliet. Deliciously funny The Independent Based on the Oscar-winning screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, Shakespeare in Love has been adapted for the stage by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot). The production is directed by Declan Donnellan and designed by Nick Ormerod, the driving force behind the world-renowned theatre company, Cheek by Jowl. Featuring a company of 30 actors and musicians, this sweeping romantic comedy will transport you back to Shakespeare’s London, teeming with vibrant colours, characters, music and life. Oh, and there’s a bit with a dog! Disney and Sonia Friedman Productions present “SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE ”, based on the screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard , adapted for the stage by Lee Hall . A swooning delight. TERRIFIC. Daily Mail CAST IAN BARTHOLOMEW – Tilney TOM BATEMAN – Will Shakespeare TONY BELL – Ralph DAISY BOULTON – Ensemble LUCY BRIGGS-OWEN – Viola De Lesseps ANNA CARTERET – Queen Elizabeth PAUL CHAHIDI – Henslowe RYAN DONALDSON – Ensemble JANET FULLERLOVE – Ensemble DAVID GANLY – Burbage RICHARD HOWARD – Sir Robert De Lesseps HARRY KARDINE – Sam ABIGAIL MCKERN – Nurse SANDY MURRAY – Ensemble DAVID OAKES – Marlowe TIMOTHY O'HARA – Ensemble PATRICK OSBORNE – Mr Wabash THOMAS PADDEN – Ensemble ALISTAIR PETRIE – Wessex DOUG RAO – Ned Alleyn ELLIOTT RENNIE – Ensemble FERDY ROBERTS – Fennyman COLIN RYAN – John Webster CHARLIE TIGHE – Ensemble TIM VAN EYKEN – Ensemble/Musical Director GAIETY, THE DOG – Crab CREATIVES Based on the screenplay by MARC NORMAN and TOM STOPPARD Adapted for stage by LEE HALL DECLAN DONNELLAN – Director NICK ORMEROD – Designer PADDY CUNNEEN – Music JANE GIBSON – Movement NEIL AUSTIN – Lighting Designer SIMON BAKER – Sound Designer

Back to News & Press Sonia Friedman: ‘Sexist guys? It’s not their time any more’ in Financial Times Friday, 5 October 2018 An article by Hannah Beckerman .Sonia Friedman rushes past the spot where I’m waiting for her, shakes my hand and apologises for being late. “I’ll be about 10 minutes,” she says, before disappearing through a door disguised as a bookcase, the kind of exit that would not look out of place in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , one of the hit plays for which Friedman is responsible. Meanwhile, I’m ushered into the boardroom of her Covent Garden offices — a narrow room dominated by a long, thin black table. Apparently, Friedman likes conducting interviews here because you get a feel for the company. You certainly get a feel for its success. One wall displays a gallery of framed Olivier Awards: I don’t count them but Friedman has 48 in total. On another wall are photographs from a selection of productions: it’s not every single one of the more than 160 shows Friedman has produced since 1990 — from David Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow to The Book of Mormon — but it’s enough to remind you why she is regarded as the world’s most successful theatre producer, and why this year she featured on Time magazine’s 100 list of the most influential people in the world. When Friedman, 53, enters the boardroom she sits down opposite me, a bottle of water in one hand, a bottle of juice in the other. It’s lunchtime but I get the impression that she probably doesn’t take many breaks in the middle of the day. I tell her that I recently saw The Jungle , her critically acclaimed play about life in the Calais refugee camp, directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin and starring a number of refugee actors. “The Jungle is a defining moment in my career,” she says, “because I don’t think I could produce it in the West End now if I hadn’t had the 20 years of experience behind me. I’ve got to the place professionally where I can say, ‘Let’s do this’: convince the theatre owner, convince investors, convince artists to do it in that space. It’s a defining moment for me because if I can’t do that type of work alongside all the rest of it, I don’t want to do my job. I have to be able to tell those stories too.” Friedman is right that it’s hard to imagine many producers who could bring a play like The Jungle — a vibrant but politically and emotionally challenging piece of immersive theatre — to the West End. And yet it’s been playing to healthy audiences throughout its run. Is she only able to produce such projects — which carry more commercial risk — because she has numerous profitable shows already under way? “Absolutely not. I can’t think of my work in terms of commercial versus non-commercial. Everything I do has to start from a passion to tell that story with that group of actors and creatives. Somewhere in the process I’ll have to look at the recoupment sheet and budgets and go, ‘Is this going to make any financial sense or not? Is this a going concern?’ But it’s not my starting point. [That] has to be how I respond to an idea. Having said that, it would be disingenuous for me to say that having something like Harry Potter and The Book of Mormon in my life doesn’t enable me to make things like The Jungle possible. But they’re all completely different financial models. So it’s not that Harry Potter pays for The Jungle . I have different investors [for each]. But my own money — my own income — can support these ventures if I feel that they’re going to need a bit more help.” Friedman pauses and when she begins to speak again her voice is impassioned. “Nothing I do sets out to be commercial. I’ve had an allergy towards that word since I worked in the subsidised sector. I hated commercial theatre. I think it’s anti-art, anti-theatre, anti-creativity, anti-audience, and so I like to think of myself as an independent producer as opposed to a commercial producer.” Those who have worked with Friedman support this view: far from the conventional image of the bean-counting producer, she has a reputation for being on the side of writers, actors and directors. Actor Mark Rylance has said that what sets her apart is that she shares more traits with an artistic director than a traditional producer. Jez Butterworth , creator of Jerusalem and The Ferryman , has spoken of how she makes him feel special and looked after, while Tom Stoppard has called her the go-to theatre producer of her generation. At one point during our interview, Friedman pulls out her phone and shows me a text message she received from Stoppard earlier. “He’s writing me a play at the moment and just before I came in here he wrote me a text saying he’s on page 35.” I ask what the play is about. “I don’t even know what he’s writing,” she says. “But to know that Tom Stoppard is somewhere locked away in a room right now writing a play for me to produce maybe — if I’m lucky enough — is just extraordinary.” Friedman’s range has always been eclectic. Having started her career as a stage manager at the National Theatre, she moved into producing in the 1990s, forming the Out of Joint Theatre Company with Max Stafford-Clarke, before establishing her own eponymous production company in 2002. From the outset, Friedman didn’t shy away from controversy, taking on productions such as Mark Ravenhill’s Shopping and F**king (1996), and has always been a champion of new writers: Lee Hall, Sebastian Barry and Patrick Marber all had early work produced by Friedman. Her Midas touch has been well documented: The Book of Mormon has smashed box office records at the Prince of Wales Theatre since Friedman brought it to the UK in 2013. Nine Olivier awards later, it is still a sell-out despite being, according to a ticket survey last year in the theatre newspaper The Stage, the most expensive West End musical, with tickets costing up to £202. Friedman acknowledges there have been productions that didn’t work out as she’d hoped but, diplomatically, declines to name them. If she is impossible to pigeonhole as a producer, I ask whether there is a shared DNA among her projects, and what it is that piques her interest at the outset. She thinks for a moment, begins a sentence, stops herself and thinks some more. “I’ve got lots of answers to this. The only reason I’m hesitating is because I don’t know which one to start with. What piques my interest is where I am in my life at that particular moment. What’s preoccupying my mind, not just politically but also my own personal interests, my own personal problems, griefs, issues. Is it in any way helping me understand what’s going on? But, most importantly, it has to surprise me. If I turn a page and I don’t know what’s going to happen next but I’m engaged, I’ll keep going. Or it can be a director. I have long-standing relationships with several directors and so a lot of projects emerge through discussion, debate, reading with a particular director who I want to keep working with. And then, of course, there’s writers and actors.” From Harold Pinter, Trevor Nunn and Rupert Goold to Keira Knightley, Elisabeth Moss and Carey Mulligan, the cast of those Friedman has worked with reads like a Who’s Who of contemporary dramatic talent. It is perhaps not surprising that Friedman has such a natural affinity with creatives. Her father — who left home before she was born — was the renowned violinist Leonard Friedman. Her mother, Clair Sims, was a concert pianist who relinquished her career in order to raise her four children, becoming a London tour guide and piano teacher to pay the bills. Her siblings include the actress Maria Friedman and the violinist Richard Friedman. They are a remarkably successful group despite the instability of their childhood. I ask Friedman whether she sees a link between the estrangement from her father and her own drive to succeed. A notoriously hard grafter, she rarely gets home before 11 o’clock at night and never takes holidays. “Of course. I was looking for approval from both my mum and my dad but particularly from my absent dad, who was very much out there and active but didn’t know who I was. In fact, the only time he contacted me — and I’m not exaggerating — was when he wanted some money. I don’t think I was aware of it then, that what I was looking for was approval. I don’t think you understand what your motivation is when you’re young, do you?” The estrangement from her father, who died in 1994, has affected her career in unexpected ways. Many producers had tried to persuade the best-selling Harry Potter author JK Rowling to collaborate on a stage version of her stories but it was Friedman’s idea that finally convinced her. “Harry Potter and the Cursed Chil d as it is wouldn’t have happened unless there’d been the father issues. My father had terrible parenting himself: how does that impact on your own children? And if you’re a great man — if you’re a great artist — does that mean that you can’t be a good dad? In terms of that narrative, I have my absent dad to thank for that story because that was the conversation that Jo [Rowling] and I had,” she laughs. Friedman describes how she and her siblings coped with their father’s desertion by putting on plays together when they were home alone. “My very early childhood was wild and boisterous and crazy and bohemian and full of music and creativity and then it stopped. Bang — just stopped when I was eight. They [her siblings] all left home in the space of a year and it was a very difficult time. Very, very difficult. And that was the time when the only survival was to escape through my dolls’ house, and by plugging into the thing that my brother and my sisters had given me which was storytelling. So I created stories on my own for about three or four years. And then I left home when I was very young — when I was about 13. I left home to go to a boarding school and then I never really went back.” Having spoken in a thoughtful, considered way thus far, Friedman suddenly becomes visibly distressed. She tells me that her mother, to whom she was incredibly close, died recently and that this is the first interview she has given since. Her mother’s death has, she says, reshaped the way she views her own motivations. “Losing my mum has crystallised for me everything to do with the absent father and actually who I was really doing it for. I was actually really doing it for my mum. Because my mum had such a difficult time: four children under 10, on her own, no money, rejection from my father’s side completely. He had multiple affairs and he didn’t ever give her a penny. And she put her whole career on hold, her life on hold. I thought I was doing it for my dad. I wasn’t. I was doing it to prove to mum that it was worth it.” Does she think this will influence the kind of plays she produces in future? “When I saw Harry Potter just after my mum died, up until that point, the play had been about one thing for me. And then I saw it again and it became a completely different play to me. Before, it was a play about father-son issues, parent-children issues, how you communicate. And then after, it was a play about grief and loss, and that’s what it is to me now. Because I am a girl who is grieving and has lost. So that will no doubt inform how I move forward creatively… Yes, I lost my dad, but I didn’t grieve. That was anger. So we’ll see how it affects the next period of my working life.” Throughout, Friedman is candid — at one point, she jokingly comments that the interview feels like a therapy session. I wonder if she has a theory as to why, in 2018, a successful female theatre producer is still a rarity. Is theatreland still a sexist place to operate? “I think if it’s sexist, those guys have to keep their mouths shut, don’t they? It’s not their time any more. And my God, doesn’t it feel good? “But there are still some very real issues and challenges women have to face: having a child, bringing up a family. I, for various reasons, have never had that choice put in front of me, so I haven’t had to make that choice. I think it would be very hard for women to have the sort of career I’ve had and bring up a family because of the hours and time it takes to do it. So I don’t think that’s sexist, but I think it’s still very real.” But is she optimistic that, a year after the #MeToo movement went viral, there is a brighter future ahead for women in the theatre industry? “In terms of female directors, female-led plays, female writers — this is the shift. It’s certainly, in our lifetime, the biggest shift and the most exciting thing I’ve ever seen, happening right now. I think we are now seizing the moment and I can’t see it going backwards.” Meanwhile, Friedman has another packed season ahead. In addition to the current slate of shows on both sides of the Atlantic, she has two new plays in London — The Inheritance, a two-part Matthew Lopez play inspired by EM Forster’s Howards End, and Tennessee Williams’ Summer and Smoke — as well as Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman on Broadway. I ask her if it’s true that it’s a much tougher nut to crack than the West End. “Broadway is primarily about the one review — The New York Times. For plays, if you don’t get a good New York Times review and you don’t have a massive, massive star in it, you’re dead. You’re dead within days.” Does she manage to sleep much before Broadway openings? Friedman laughs. “No. Literally every time I open a show on Broadway I go, ‘I don’t know why I’m doing this to myself. What am I doing?’ But Broadway is the best place to produce in the world because of the high-wire act. It’s intoxicating. It’s devastating when it doesn’t work but, my God, when it does it just feels like you’ve conquered the world.” Given how often Friedman has conquered the theatrical world — a notoriously crowded and capricious space — what’s the secret to her consistently good audiences? “It’s not difficult, if it’s good,” she whispers, and smiles. “I don’t have a worry about the economy of our theatre. Great work, great stories will always have an audience. It’s not about taking an advert in three newspapers and making sure that your digital campaign works and you’ve got enough escalator panels up — it’s not about that. Of course that’s part of it. But it’s about word-of-mouth, word-of-mouth, word-of-mouth.” Since Friedman started producing 25 years ago, the meaning of word-of-mouth has expanded dramatically. In the age of social media, a creative team can get real-time audience feedback during the first preview of a new production. So does social media reduce the importance of critics? “No. The critics are very, very important but the critics can’t make it a hit if the people don’t want to go. You can’t have a hit if the audience and the word-of-mouth is not strong. But if they happen together you’re off and running.” One of the contentious issues in the theatrical world in recent years has been the casting of celebrities — particularly in musical theatre — as a means of attracting audiences. Friedman’s shows over the years include productions with unknowns — such as The Jungle — and those featuring household names such as Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch in 2015, for which all 100,000 tickets sold out in hours. Is it ever a difficult decision to cast a famous actor? “It’s simply about whether I think they can do the job and whether they’d be right for that role. There’s no question that audiences love star performances. It’s what the theatre’s always been about. I think some producers are sometimes criticised for casting stars when actually they’re terrific theatre actors who happen to be famous for doing Sherlock,” she laughs, referring to one of Cumberbatch’s TV roles. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say that if a star is in a play, that is going to make my life easier. But I just want to be clear that we understand what the word star means. A star is a great actor that audiences may have heard of.” Friedman and I have talked a lot about her professional motivations: her absent father, self-sacrificing mother, a childhood steeped in storytelling. Before we end, I ask her whether there might be something else, some other driving force behind her success. She thinks for a few seconds before replying. “I think it’s about proving it to myself — proving that I can do it. The world I’ve chosen to work in, nobody really knows the answer as to why something does or doesn’t work. So I think what keeps me going is the fact that I don’t know what the result is going to be, and I need to go through it in order to find out. I’m not a coward, you see. I’m really, really excited by the unknown.” Up Up

Back to News & Press Funny Girl Opens to Rave Reviews and extends West End run Friday, 4 December 2015 Following a critically acclaimed opening at the Menier Chocolate Factory this week, the smash hit production of Funny Girl extends its booking period at the Savoy Theatre due to popular demand. Michael Mayer’s “exhilarating embrace of a production – Independent” will now run until 10 September 2016 – marking the musical’s 50th anniversary year. Tickets for the extended booking period production starring Olivier and BAFTA award-winning actress and “phenomenal talent – Independent” Sheridan Smith as Fanny Brice go on sale today. “Sheridan Smith is one of British Theatre’s truly golden performers – a versatile star who thrills with her ability to be simultaneously touching and hilarious. Here she’s on glorious form.” Evening Standard With music by Jule Styne (whose musical Gypsy recently completed its award-winning run at the Savoy Theatre, starring Imelda Staunton), lyrics by Bob Merrill and book by Isobel Lennart, the Broadway smash which skyrocketed Barbra Streisand to stardom, is revived with book revisions by Harvey Fierstein. Sheridan Smith plays Fanny Brice, who rose from being a Brooklyn music hall singer to become one of Broadway's biggest stars under producer Florenz Ziegfeld. While she was cheered onstage as a great comedienne, offstage she faced a doomed relationship with the man she loved. With a score featuring now-classic songs such as "People", "You Are Woman, I Am Man", “I’m the Greatest Star” and "Don't Rain on My Parade", this brand new production promises to be the must-see musical of 2016. Sheridan Smith plays Fanny Brice. She has previously won two Olivier Awards, the first for her leading role as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde at the Savoy, and the second for Flare Path at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Other stage work includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Michael Grandage (Noel Coward), Hedda Gabler (Old Vic), Tinderbox (Bush Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (Menier Chocolate Factory and Duke of York’s Theatre), and Into the Woods (Donmar Warehouse). For her television work, she won a BAFTA for her performance in ITV’s Mrs Biggs. She has twice been nominated for an International Emmy, for Mrs Biggs and Cilla, for which she won the National TV Award and received a second BAFTA nomination. Other television includes The C Word, Inside Number 9, Black Work, The 7:39, The Scapegoat, Jimmy McGovern’s Accused, Jonathan Creek, Gavin and Stacey, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Love Soup and The Royle Family. Her film work includes The Huntsman (to be released in 2016), Quartet, Powder Room, The Harry Hill Movie, Tower Block, and Hysteria. Michael Mayer directs. His West End credits include Spring Awakening (Lyric Hammersmith and Novello Theatre) and Thoroughly Modern Millie (Shaftesbury Theatre). For Broadway his work includes Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Tony Award nomination for Best Director), On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, American Idiot (Drama Desk Award for Best Director of a Musical), Spring Awakening (Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Drama Desk Award for Best Direction of a Musical) and You're a Good Man Charlie Brown (Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical). For television, his work includes Smash and Alpha House, and for film his credits include A Home at the End of the World, Flicka and currently in post-production, Chekhov's The Seagull. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut with a celebrated new production of Rigoletto. Choreography is by Lynne Page, with set design by Michael Pavelka, costume designer by Matthew Wright, lighting design by Mark Henderson and sound designer by Richard Brooker, the musical supervisor is Alan Williams and orchestrations are by Chris Walker. Up Up

Back to News & Press Meet the Principal Cast Bringing the World Premiere of PADDINGTON The Musical to the West End this Autumn Wednesday, 20 August 2025 As rehearsals begin for the world premiere of PADDINGTON The Musical, producers Sonia Friedman Productions , STUDIOCANAL and Eliza Lumley Productions on behalf of Universal Music UK today announce the principal cast (well, maybe not quite all of them just yet…) and further members of the creative team. Adapted from the much-loved books written by Michael Bond , and the award-winning films by STUDIOCANAL, with music and lyrics by Tom Fletcher, book by Jessica Swale and direction by Luke Sheppard the production opens at the Savoy Theatre on Sunday, 30 November, with previews from Saturday, 1 November, and is currently booking until 25 May 2026. The principal cast is Timi Akinyosade (Tony), Amy Booth-Steel (Lady Sloane), Tarinn Callender (Grant), Delilah Bennett-Cardy (Judy Brown), Adrian Der Gregorian (Mr. Brown), Tom Edden (Mr Curry), Brenda Edwards (Tanya), Amy Ellen Richardson (Mrs. Brown), Victoria Hamilton-Barritt (Millicent Clyde), Teddy Kempner (Mr Gruber), Bonnie Langford (Mrs Bird), and the role of Jonathan Brown is played by Joseph Bramley , Leo Collon , Stevie Hare and Jasper Rowse . It may also be apparent that someone rather important is missing from this announcement. Dramatic paws... We can’t wait for you to meet Paddington, but please bear with us a little longer. Also announced today is the additional creative team working alongside Sheppard – Matt Brind (Musical Supervisor, Orchestrations and Arrangements), Ellen Kane (Choreographer), Tom Pye (Scenic Designer), Gabriella Slade (Costume Designer), Paddington Bear Designer: To be revealed , Neil Austin (Lighting Designer), Gareth Owen (Sound Designer), Ash J Woodward (Video Designer and Animation), Campbell Young Associates (Hair, Wig & Make-Up Designer), Majid Adin (Illustration and additional Animation), Laura Bangay (Musical Director), Natalie Gallacher CDG for Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher Casting (Casting Director), and Nick Hockaday (Young Persons’ Casting Director), Javier Marzan (Physical Comedy Consultant, Tobago and D-Lime (Additional Music Consultants). Full cast, including Paddington Casting, Bear Designer and Bear Creative team to be announced shortly. Producers Sonia Friedman and Eliza Lumley said today, “Having had the immense privilege to work with Tom, Jessica and Luke to create and develop this brand-new musical over several years, it’s incredibly exciting to be starting rehearsals with this extraordinary company. We can’t wait until the first preview, when we will reveal who will be playing Paddington, and the brilliant creative team who are responsible for bringing this very special bear to life on stage.” Anna Marsh , CEO of STUDIOCANAL, Chief Content Officer of CANAL+ and Deputy CEO of CANAL+ comments, “We are so proud to announce our brilliantly talented company today as we look forward to Paddington’s highly anticipated stage debut in London’s West End. As with our films and series, we have put such genuine care into PADDINGTON the Musical to ensure that audiences will truly delight in Paddington’s next adventure. It’s a true privilege for everyone at STUDIOCANAL to be part of Paddington’s legacy.” Up Up

Back to News & Press Rafe Spall to play Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird Friday, 26 March 2021 The production will open at the Gielgud Theatre on 31 March 2022, with previews from 10 March. This new play by Aaron Sorkin is based on Harper Lee ’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, and directed by Bartlett Sher . To Kill a Mockingbird premiered on 13 December 2018, at Broadway’s Shubert Theatre. It is the most successful American play on Broadway; amassing a total gross of more than $125m to date and breaking the theatre’s box office record on ten occasions. On 26 February 2020, the Broadway cast gave a history-making free performance at Madison Square Garden in front of 18,000 New York City school children; this became the largest single performance of a theatrical work ever. To date, the Broadway production has provided over 10,000 free and low cost tickets to students. For the London run, there will be a comprehensive education and outreach programme, seeking to engage with schools and communities who might otherwise be unable to access live theatre, and to raise awareness of the job opportunities within the theatre industry. In addition, there will be over 500 tickets available for each week of the run between £5 and £10. Full details and initiatives to be announced later this year. Rafe Spall plays Atticus Finch . For theatre, Spall’s work includes Death of England, Hedda Gabler – Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Play (National Theatre), Betrayal (Broadway), Constellations (Royal Court Theatre and West End – Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor), and John Gabriel Borkman (Donmar Warehouse). His television credits include Trying , The Salisbury Poisonings , The War of the Worlds , and his international Emmy-nominated performance as Joe in Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror . For film, his work includes Academy Award-winning The Big Short , Steven Spielberg's The BFG , Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead , Dan Mazer’s I Give it a Year , Ang Lee’s Life of Pi , Ridley Scott’s Prometheus and Lone Scherfig’s One Day , and most recently Just Mercy, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Men in Black: International , and the forthcoming Long Story Short .Harper Lee’s enduring story of racial injustice and childhood innocence has sold more than 45 million copies of the novel worldwide. 2020 marked the 60th anniversary of its publication.To Kill a Mockingbird will preview at London’s Gielgud Theatre from 10 March 2022 with an Opening Night on 31 March 2022 . Tickets go on general sale from 10.00am on 6 April 2021. For latest news and priority booking access sign up at www.tokillamockingbird.co.uk Up Up

Back to News & Press Full Company Announced for Critically Acclaimed Olivier Award-winning STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW Tuesday, 23 September 2025 Netflix and Sonia Friedman Productions today announce the full company who will join the critically acclaimed, Olivier Award-winning, world première production of Stranger Things: The First Shadow . The new company begins performances at the Phoenix Theatre on 12 November 2025, ahead of the second anniversary of the West End production and the release of the highly anticipated fifth and final season of the hit Netflix series. Current cast members Ammar Duffus (Charles Sinclair), Jack Gardner (Walter Henderson), Andy Langtree (Victor Creel), Lauren O'Neil (Virginia Creel) and Rufus Wright (Principal Newby) and the previously announced Jack Christou (Henry Creel), Stewart Clarke (Dr Brenner), Avril Maponga (Patty Newby), Max Potter (Bob Newby), Adam Wadsworth (James Hopper Jr.) and Edie Wright (Joyce Maldonado) are joined by a new company including Maximillian Graham (Alan Munson), Anastasia Koloko (Sue Anderson), Joshua McElroy (Lonnie Byers), Grace Alice Murray (Claudia Yount), Tom O'Brien (Ted Wheeler), Freya Taylor-Lester (Karen Childress), Andrew Whipp (Chief Hopper). To alternate the role of Alice Creel current cast members Maya Guinoubi and Tabitha Morley are joined by Phoenix Hamer and Emilia Rose . Completing the company are Lola Adaja ,Bronte Alice-Tadman , Aoife Browne , Kaylah Copeland , Alex Dargie , Adéoré Edwards , Vanessa Fisher , Kieran Garland , Ross Green , Brandon Kimrayo , Ben Skym , Leah St Luce , Stanley Treshansky and Selena Thompson . The multi award-winning hit production is now running on both sides of the Atlantic, having opened on Broadway earlier this year. Its numerous accolades in London include the Olivier Awards for Best Entertainment and Best Set Design, the Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Set Design and Most Promising Newcomer, and the WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Play. On Broadway the play became the most nominated of the 2025 season, winning 4 Tony Awards including a special Tony Award for Illusions and Technical Effects. The Broadway production is currently booking tickets through March 2026 at The Marquis Theater. Earlier this year, Netflix released the official documentary, Behind the Curtain: Stranger Things: The First Shadow , which offers an electrifying look backstage during the making of the critically acclaimed, award-winning play in the lead up to its world premiere at London’s Phoenix Theatre in December 2023. It is available to watch now exclusively on Netflix. Up Up

Back to Productions LEOPOLDSTADT – DIGITAL Leopoldstadt, Tom Stoppard's Olivier Award-winning new play, directed by Patrick Marber is screening via National Theatre HOME. ★★★★★ Tom Stoppard’s masterpiece. Magnificent. The Independent At the beginning of the 20th century, Leopoldstadt was the old, crowded Jewish quarter of Vienna, Austria. But Hermann Merz, a factory owner and baptised Jew now married to Catholic Gretl, has moved up in the world. We follow his family’s story across half a century, passing through the convulsions of war, revolution, impoverishment, annexation by Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. A company of 40 actors represent each generation of the family in this epic, but intimate play. ★★★★ Tom Stoppard delivers an unforgettable play from the heart Telegraph Filmed live at Wyndham's Theatre, this passionate drama of love, family and endurance comes to cinemas from 27 January 2022. The new ‘masterwork’ (Evening Standard ) opened to overwhelming critical acclaim and sold-out performances in 2020 & 2021 – don't miss on a big screen near you. Leopoldstadt is a passionate drama of love, family and endurance. ‘Tom Stoppard’s masterpiece is magnificent ’ (Independent ) and should not be missed. Filmed by National Theatre Live Presented by Sonia Freidman Productions ★★★★ Tom Stoppard’s new masterwork is an early contender for play for the year. Evening Standard CAST SEBASTIAN ARMESTO – Jacob/Nathan/Ludwig JENNA AUGEN – Rosa CARA BALLINGALL – Jana RHYS BAILEY – Young Nathan FAYE CASTELOW – Gretl JOE COEN – Policeman/Zac FELICITY DAVIDSON – Hilde MARK EDEL-HUNT – Civilian/Fritz CLARA FRANCIS – Wilma ARTY FROUSHAN – Leo ILAN GALKOFF – Pauli CAROLINE GRUBER – Emilia SAM HOARE – Percy NATALIE LAW – Hanna AVYE LEVENTIS – Sally AIDAN MCARDLE – Hermann MACY NYMAN – Hermine NOOF OUSELLAM – Otto DOROTHEA MYER-BENNETT – Eva JAKE NEADS – Mohel/Policeman AARON NEIL – Ernst ALEXANDER NEWLAND – Kurt SADIE SHIMMIN – Poldi GRIFFIN STEVENS – Aaron ELEANOR WYLD – Nellie CREATIVES TOM STOPPARD – Playwright PATRICK MARBER – Director RICHARD HUDSON – Set Designer BRIGITTE REIFFENSTUEL – Costume Designer NEIL AUSTIN – Lighting Designer ADAM CORK – Sound and Original Music EMILY JANE BOYLE – Movement AMY BALL CDG – Casting VERITY NAUGHTON – Children's Casting

Back to News & Press Legally Blonde The Musical announces new cast Tuesday, 20 September 2011 From 10 October 2011, Carley Stenson (Elle Woods), Stephen Ashfield (Emmett), Ben Freeman (Warner), Natalie Casey (Paulette) and Peter Davison (Professor Callahan) will lead the cast of the Olivier Award winning show Legally Blonde The Musical, which is currently booking until 27 October 2012 at the Savoy Theatre. College sweetheart and homecoming queen Elle Woods doesn't take no for an answer. So when her boyfriend Warner dumps her for someone serious, Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and heads for Harvard Law! Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style. Legally Blonde The Musical opened at the Savoy Theatre in December 2009 and has been playing to packed audiences ever since. At the 2011 Laurence Olivier Awards Legally Blonde The Musical won the award for Best New Musical. Carley Stenson made her West End debut in Legally Blonde The Musical in the role of Margot. She is best known on television as Steph Cunningham in C4’s Hollyoaks, a role she played for over ten years. She won ITV’s Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes when she performed as Faith Hill. Her regional theatre credits include Sandy in Grease, Dulcie in The Boyfriend and Nancy in Oliver. Stephen Ashfield’s theatre credits include Bob Gaudio in the original London cast of Jersey Boys, Boy George in Taboo in the West End and on tour in the UK, Nick in Fame at the Aldwych Theatre, the Beast in Beauty and the Beast for Theatre Clwyd, Adam in Imagine This at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth and John in Tomorrow Morning at the New End Theatre. His screen credits include Tim Burton’s film of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd. Ben Freeman’s theatre credits include Norman in Dreamboats and Petticoats at the Savoy Theatre and on tour in the UK, George in Same Time, Next Year at the Jersey Arts Centre, Friedrich in The Sound of Music on tour in the UK and the roles of the Prince and the Beast in Beauty and the Beast at the Hazlitt Theatre in Maidstone. His television credits include Scott Windsor in Emmerdale as well as roles in Grange Hill and Smith and Jones. Natalie Casey is best known on television for playing Donna in the BBC’s Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. On stage she has been seen in The Invisible Man at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Oklahoma for Chichester Festival Theatre, Well at the Apollo Theatre, Fame at the Shaftesbury Theatre and Hobson’s Choice at the Watermill Theatre. Her other television credits include Dave Shakespeare, Missing, Hollyoaks, Head Jam, Girls Night In and Chopratown. On film she played Shirley Temple in Chicago Joe and the Showgirl. Peter Davison became a household name when he played the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who between 1981 and 1984. His extensive television credits include Tristan Farnon in the long running BBC series All Creatures Great and Small and DC Davies in four series of ITV’s acclaimed The Last Detective. His other TV credits include At Home with the Braithwaites, A Quick Guide to Parenting, A Very Peculiar Practice, Ain't Misbehaving and Fear Stress and Anger, for which he won the 2007 Best Actor Award at the Monte Carlo Television Festival. Most recently he has been seen in the ITV1 dramas Unforgiven and Midsomer Murders. On stage he played King Arthur in Monty Python’s Spamalot at the Palace Theatre as well as roles in Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre, An Absolute Turkey at the Globe Theatre and Arsenic and Old Lace for Chichester Festival Theatre. On film his credits include Parting Shots, Black Beauty and Molly. Directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winning Jerry Mitchell, Legally Blonde The Musical has music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, book by Heather Hach, set design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller, sound design by ACME Sound Partners and orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke. The cast of Legally Blonde The Musical as of 10 October 2011 will be Jon Tsouras (Padamadan, Nikos), Georgie Ashford (Gabby, Stenographer), Lucy Miller (Serena), Nathan Pinnell (Carlos), Natalie Casey (Paulette Buonufonté), Peter Davison (Professor Callahan) Tricia Adele Turner (Vivienne Kensington), Chris Ellis-Stanton (Grandmaster Chad, Dewey, Kyle), Danielle Steers (Judge, Saleswoman), Abiona Omonua (Pilar), Ellie Kirk (Margot), Gemma Sutton (Enid), Sorelle Marsh (Courtney, Mom, Whitney), Stephen Ashfield (Emmett Forrest), Nick Hayes (Pforzheimer), Chloë Brooks (Kate, Chutney), Carley Stenson (Elle Woods), Lincoln Stone (Dad, Winthrop, Reporter), Ben Freeman (Warner Huntington III), Robbie Towns (Aaron), Gregory Sims (Kiki), Tamara Wall (Brooke Wyndham), Ross Hunter (Lowell) and Tara Young (Cece/District Attorney) as well as Fabian Aloise, Henry Davis, Jane McMurtie, Ruthie Stephenson and Carolyn Maitland as swings. Up Up

Back to Productions LAST DANCE AT DUM DUM This production began performances on 14th July and closed on 28th August 1999. Sonia Friedman Productions/ATG , Royal Court Theatre and Mark Goucher present Ayab Khan-Din’s “LAST DANCE AT DUM DUM ”. CAST PAUL BAZELY – Eliot SHEILA BURRELL – Violet AVRIL ELGAR – Daphne DIANA FAIRFAX – Lydia MADHUR JAFFREY – Muriel RASHID KARAPIET – Mr Jones NICHOLAS LE PREVOST – Bertie MADHAV SHARMA – Mr Chakravatty CREATIVES AYAB KHAN-DIN – Playwright STUART BURGE – Director TIM HATLEY – Designer MARK HENDERSON – Lighting Designer JOHN A. LEONARD – Sound Designer

Back to Productions TOP GIRLS This production began performances on 5th August and closed on 29th October 2011. A piece of theatrical history. Genius. Daily Mail It's Thatcher's England and hard-nosed businesswoman Marlene is hosting a dinner party to celebrate her promotion to MD of the Top Girls Employment Agency. Her guests - all powerful women from myth and history - create an extraordinary gathering. A provocative study of powerful women in Thatcher's Britain, the play examines the compromises made by women in the quest for success, and what happens to those left behind. A modern classic. Witty, deeply felt and theatrically daring. Daily Telegraph Following a sell-out season in Chichester, Max Stafford-Clark 's critically acclaimed production of Caryl Churchill 's masterpiece, Top Girls transfers to the Trafalgar Studios for a strictly limited season from 5 August. This smash hit production see Max Stafford-Clark and Caryl Churchill reunited, having originally worked together on the premiere of Top Girls in 1982 at the Royal Court Theatre. A seminal play in an outstanding and powerful production, not to be missed. Sonia Friedman Productions , Robert G. Bartner and Norman Tulchin , Max Cooper , Scott M. Delman , Jacki Barla Florin/ Mark Zimmerman , Scott and Brian Zeilinger present an Out of Joint/ Chichester Festival Theatre Production , “TOP GIRLS ”. Directed with absolute mastery by Max Stafford-Clark. Outrageously funny. Wonderful. The Independent CAST STELLA GONET – Isabella Bird/Joyce/Mrs Kidd SURANNE JONES – Marlene CATHERINE MCCORMACK – Lady Nijo/Win LUCY BRIERS – Pope Joan/Louise LAURA ELPHINSTONE – Patient Griselda/Nell LISA KERR – Waitress/Kit/Shona OLIVIA POULET – Dull Gret/Jeanine/Angie CREATIVES CARYL CHURCHILL – Playwright MAX STAFFORD-CLARK – Director TIM SHORTALL – Designer JASON TAYLOR – Lighting Designer IAN DICKINSON – Sound Designer FINN ROSS – Video Designer GABRIELLE DAWES CDG – Casting Director TIM HOARE – Assistant Director CAROLINE WATERMAN – Costume Supervisor JEMMA GARDNER – Props Supervisor CHARMAIN HOARE – Dialect Coach

Back to News & Press Merrily We Roll Along Full Cast and Creative Team Announced Thursday, 29 September 2022 Joining the previously announced Jonathan Groff , Lindsay Mendez and Daniel Radcliffe will be Sherz Aletaha as Scotty/Mrs. Spencer/Auditionee, Krystal Joy Brown as Gussie, Katie Rose Clarke as Beth, Leana Rae Concepcion as Newscaster/Waitress/Auditionee, Carter Harris as Frank Jr. (alternates with Colin Keane ), Colin Keane as Frank Jr. (alternates with Carter Harris ), Morgan Kirner as Swing, Corey Mach as Tyler/Make-Up Artist, Talia Robinson as Meg, Reg Rogers as Joe, Amanda Rose as Swing, Jamila Sabares-Klemm as Dory/Evelyn, Brian Sears as Photographer/Bunker, Evan Alexander Smith as Swing, Christian Strange as RU/Newscaster/Reverend, Koray Tarhan as Swing, Vishal Vaidya as Jerome, Natalie Wachen as KT and Jacob Keith Watson as Terry/Mr. Spencer. The creative team includes Catherine Jayes (Music Supervisor), Alvin Hough, Jr. (Music Director), Soutra Gilmour (Scenic & Costume Design), Amith Chandrashaker (Lighting Design), Kai Harada (Sound Design), Jim Carnahan, CSA & Jason Thinger, CSA (Casting), Taylor Williams (Additional Casting), Dave Anzuelo (Fight & Intimacy Director) and Jhanaë K-C Bonnick (Stage Manager). 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. Merrily We Roll Along features music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim , a book by George Furth , and is based on the original play by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart . Our upcoming production will be directed by Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman and choreographed by Tim Jackson . Maria Friedman first directed the musical at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory which subsequently transferred to the Harold Pinter Theatr e to critical acclaim—the most five-star reviews in West End history—winning the Olivier Award for Best Musical. Merrily We Roll Along is presented by special arrangement with Sonia Friedman Productions , the Menier Chocolate Factory (Artistic Director David Babani ) and Patrick Catullo . Up Up