Back to News & Press The Nether transfers to the West End Thursday 16 October 2014 Sonia Friedman Productions, Scott M Delman and Tulchin Bartner Productions present the West End transfer of Jennifer Haley’s critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning The Nether. In a Headlong and Royal Court Theatre co-production directed by Jeremy Herrin, The Nether previews at the Duke of York’s Theatre from 30 January 2015, opens on 23 February and is booking for 12 weeks only to 25 April 2015. Original cast members Amanda Hale (Morris), Stanley Townsend (Sims) and Ivanno Jeremiah (Woodnut) are joined by Zoe Brough and Isabella Pappas who will alternate the role of Iris as they did at the Royal Court. Final casting will be announced shortly. Set designs are by Es Devlin, with costume designs by Christina Cunningham, lighting by Paul Pyant, compositions by Nick Powell, sound by Ian Dickinson and video design by Luke Halls. With 100 tickets at each performance at £20.50 and Royal Court pricing throughout the preview period, public booking for The Nether opens on 22 October 2014. The Nether offers complete freedom – a new virtual wonderland providing total sensory immersion. Just log in, choose an identity and indulge your every desire. 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. The Nether, winner of the 2012 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, opened at the Royal Court Theatre in July this year where it played to sell-out audiences. Haley’s play received its world premiere in Spring 2013 produced by the Center Theatre Group at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles and won her an Ovation Award for Best Original Play and an L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for Writing. Jennifer Haley’s other writing includes Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom, which premiered at the Actors Theatre of Louisville at the 2008 Humana Festival, Breadcrumbs for the Contemporary American Theatre Festival and Sustainable Living written in the 2011-2012 CTG Writers’ Workshop and featured at the Ojai Playwrights Conference. Her play Froggy is in development with The Banff Centre and American Conservatory Theater. Haley’s plays have been developed at the Sundance Theatre Lab, the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, the Lark Play Development Center, PlayPenn, Page 73 and the MacDowell Colony. She is a member of New Dramatists in New York City and lives in Los Angeles where she founded a writing collective called the Playwrights Union. The Nether was the first play Jeremy Herrin directed for Headlong as Artistic Director. Previously he was Deputy Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre from 2009 until 2012 where his credits included No Quarter, Hero, Haunted Child, The Heretic, Kin, Spur of the Moment, Off the Endz, The Priory, Tusk Tusk, The Vertical Hour and That Face. Herrin directed the world premieres of Hilary Mantel’s Man Booker prize-winning novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies in two parts for the Royal Shakespeare Company – the productions transferred to the West End in May 2014 and will open on Broadway in March next year. His other recent credits include Another Country, Uncle Vanya and South Downs for Chichester Festival Theatre all of which transferred to the West End, This House for the National Theatre, Absent Friends at the Harold Pinter Theatre and The Tempest and Much Ado About Nothing for Shakespeare’s Globe. Herrin’s production of David Hare’s The Absence of War will open at Sheffield Theatres in February 2015 prior to a UK tour. Amanda Hale can currently be seen on stage in Jagged Edge’s production of Uncle Vanya at the St James Theatre. Her previous theatre credits include Wastwater and The City for the Royal Court, King Lear and Elektra for Headlong and the Young Vic, Eldorado at the Arcola, The Domino Heart at the Finborough, The House of Bernarda Alba for the Almeida Theatre, Our Class for the National Theatre, The Importance of Being Earnest for Oxford Playhouse, After Dido for the Young Vic and Pornography for Birmingham Rep/Traverse Theatre. Her extensive television credits include Dates, The White Queen, Ripper Street, Rev, Being Human, Spooks, Richard is My Boyfriend and Persuasion. Her film credits include The Invisible Woman, The Look of Love and Bright Star. Ivanno Jeremiah’s theatre credits include Truth and Reconciliation for the Royal Court, Julius Caesar for the Royal Shakespeare Company, As You Like It for the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Welcome Home at the Pleasance and the international tour of The Suit. His television credits include Humans, The Hollow Crown, The Jury II and Injustice. On film his credits include Julius Caesar, Papadopoulos & Sons and The Veteran. Stanley Townsend’s theatre credits include Tribes, The Alice Trilogy, Shining City, Under the Blue Sky and The Weir all for the Royal Court, King Lear, Phèdre, Gethsemane, Happy Now, Remember This and Guys and Dolls all for the National Theatre, Broken Glass at the Tricycle and in the West End and A View from a Bridge at the Lyceum, Edinburgh. His extensive television credits include the recent series of 24: Die Another Day opposite Kiefer Sutherland, as well as Quirke, The Shadow Line, Ripper Street, Toast, Sherlock Holmes, Ashes to Ashes, Hustle, Spooks, Fleming, Mad Dogs , Whistleblower, New Worlds, The Virgin Queen, Fresh Meat and Appropriate Adult. On film his credits include The Voices, One Chance, Happy Go Lucky and The Libertine. Zoe Brough and Isabella Pappas made their professional stage debuts in The Nether at the Royal Court Theatre. Up Up

Back to News & Press West End transfer for Headlong and Almeida Theatre's five star co-production of Lucy Kirkwood's Chimerica Wednesday 12 June 2013 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. Set designs are by Es Devlin with costumes by Christina Cunningham, lighting by Tim Lutkin, sound by Carolyn Downing and video design by Finn Ross. Chimerica will be produced in the West End by Sonia Friedman Productions, Bob Bartner/Norman Tulchin and Jean Doumanian. The cast includes Stephen Campbell Moore, Benedict Wong, Claudie Blakley, Elizabeth Chan, Vera Chok, Karl Collins, Trevor Cooper, Nancy Crane, Sean Gilder, Sarah Lam and Andrew Leung all of whom will reprise their roles in the West End. Final casting will be announced shortly. 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? Stephen Campbell Moore’s (Joe) theatre credits include Berenice at the Donmar Warehouse, Clybourne Park for the Royal Court, All My Sons at the Apollo Theatre and The History Boys for the National Theatre. Amongst his television credits are The Wrong Mans, Hunted, Lark Rise to Candleford, Ashes to Ashes and Hustle. His film work includes Complicit, A Short Stay in Switzerland, Sea Wolf, The History Boys and Bright Young Things. Benedict Wong (Zhang Lin) was recently seen in Hampstead Theatre’s production of #aiww: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei. Previously he played Laertes in the critically acclaimed Hamlet at the Young Vic opposite Michael Sheen. His many film credits include Prometheus, The Lady, Dirty Pretty Things, Moon, Sunshine, Hummingbird and Kick Ass 2. Wong’s TV credits include Run, Top Boy and The Wrong Mans. Claudie Blakley (Tessa) recently played Lady Macbeth at Sheffield Crucible where she was also seen in Lear. Her other theatre credits include The Lady from the Sea at the Almeida Theatre. She has performed at the National Theatre, Hampstead Theatre, the Young Vic, Royal Court and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her television credits include New Tricks, Lark Rise to Candleford and Cranford Chronicles. Her film credits include Bright Star, Pride and Prejudice and Gosford Park. Elizabeth Chan’s (Liuli) theatre credits include Inside Out and Monkey for Polka Theatre, The Wheel for the National Theatre of Scotland, Greenland for the National Theatre and Nicholas Nickleby for the Lyric Hammersmith. Her television credits include Black Mirror: Going Dark and Silent Witness. Vera Chok’s (Michelle /Mary Chang) theatre credits include Tonseisha – The Man Who Abandoned the World at the Barbican PitLab, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight for New Perspectives UK tour, The Death of Tintagell for saltpeter and When The Lights Went Out for Tara Arts UK tour. Her screen credits include Panic and Random 11. Karl Collins (David/Peter/Paul/Officer) was seen on stage at the Tricycle Theatre in One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show. His other theatre credits include Category B and Fabulation also for the Tricycle Theatre and Riff Raff for the Arcola Theatre. Amongst his television credits are Black Mirror, Death in Paradise, Metrosexuality and The Bill. His film credits include The Unloved, Life and Lyrics and Greenwich Mean Time. Trevor Cooper (Frank) has been seen at the Almeida Theatre in The Late Henry Moss, playing the title role, as well as roles in Awake and Sing, Measure for Measure and House of Games. His other theatre credits include Heartbreak House for Chichester Festival Theatre, King Lear for the Tobacco Factory, Arcadia at the Duke of York's and The Lieutenant of Innishmore for the Royal Shakespeare Company. His television credits include Vikings, Spooks, Inspector George Gently, Outnumbered, The History of Mr Polly and Trial and Retribution. On film his credits include Somerstown, Happy-Go-Lucky, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Gangs of New York and Vanity Fair. Nancy Crane’s (Martha/Doreen/Maria Dubiecki) more recent theatre credits include The Children’s Hour at the Comedy Theatre, Design for Living at the Old Vic and Now or Later for the Royal Court. Her television credits include Nixon’s The One, Upstairs, Downstairs and Cambridge Spies. On film her credits include The Special Relationship and The Road to Guantanamo. Sean Gilder (Mel Stanwyck) has previously been seen in Enemies and The Earthly Paradise at the Almeida Theatre, Little Malcolm and his Struggle Against the Eunuchs for Hampstead Theatre, All’s Well That Ends Well for the Royal Exchange Theatre and Our Boys for the Donmar Warehouse. His extensive television credits include Inspector George Gently, The Shadow Line, Shameless, State of Play and New Tricks. On film his credits include Selfish Giant, King Arthur and Gangs of New York. Sarah Lam’s (Feng Meihui/Ming Xiaoli) more recent theatre credits include Factors Unforeseen for the Orange Tree and Mail Order Bride for the Theatre Royal Northampton. She has previously been seen in productions at the National Theatre and the Royal Court. On television her credits include No Problem!, Angels and Brookside. On film her credits include Hamlet and China Connection. Andrew Leung’s (Young Zhang Lin/Benny) theatre credits include #aiww: The Arrest of Ai Weiweiat Hampstead Theatre, Minaturists 33 and A Leap of Faith for the Arcola Theatre, Man in the Middle for Theatre 503 and Romeo and Juliet, Uncle Vanya and All My Sons for East 15. His television credits include Phone Shop and Ahead of the Class. On film his credits include Comes a Bright Day and The List. Lucy Kirkwood’s plays are The Small Hours, co–written with Ed Hime for Hampstead Theatre, Beauty and The Beast for the National Theatre, Bloody Wimmin for the Tricycle’s Women, Power and Politics season, It Felt Empty When the Heart Went at First But It is Alright Now for Clean Break Theatre Company at the Arcola, Guns or Butter for The Union Theatre Terror Festival, Psychogeography and Tinderbox for the Bush Theatre an Grady Hot Potato for Bedlam Theatre. Kirkwood adapted Hedda Gabler for the Gate Theatre and has written for C4’s Skins. Her play NSFW opened at the Royal Court in 2012, directed by Simon Godwin. Lyndsey Turner’s Royal Court production of Posh completed its run in the West End in August 2012 and her production of Philadelphia, Here I Come! ran at the Donmar Warehouse last year. Turner’s other productions for the Royal Court includes Contractions, A Miracle and Our Private Life. She is Associate Director at Sheffield Theatres where her work includes Alice and The Way of the World. Her other theatre credits include Edgar And Annabel and There Is A War for the National Theatre, Joseph K and Nocturnal for the Gate, My Romantic History for Traverse, Bush, Sheffield Theatres and The Lesson for the Arcola. Headlong is one of the UK's leading theatre companies, dedicated to new ways of making theatre, collaborating with the most exciting and adventurous theatre artists in the country and providing them with the time, resources and creative support to allow them to make their most challenging work. Previous work include The Effect and Earthquakes in London at the National Theatre, DECADE at St Katharine Docks and the multi award-winning ENRON at the Royal Court, in the West End and on Broadway. The Almeida Theatre is a 325 seat theatre in the heart of Islington, North London, producing a diverse range of British and international drama with some of the world's best artists, and has developed a reputation as a local theatre with world profile. Almeida Projects links the theatre's work with their local community and the annual Almeida Festival celebrates the best of new and international theatre bringing fresh voices to the Almeida stage. Aspen is the Almeida’s Principal Partner, and their support ensures continued bold programming and artistic endeavour. Chimerica is a Headlong and Almeida Theatre co-production produced in the West End by Sonia Friedman Productions, Bob Bartner/Norman Tulchin and Jean Doumanian. Up Up

Back to News & Press 211 Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nominations announced Monday 25 April 2011 The 77th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony will be held 20 May at noon in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, New York City. ARCADIA received a nomination for Distinguished Revival of a Play, and Billy Crudup (Bernard Nightengale) and Raúl Esparza (Valentine Coverly) each received a nomination for the Distinguished Performance Award. JERUSALEM received a nomination for Distinguished Production of a Play, and Mark Rylance (Johnny "Rooster" Byron) was nominated for the Distinguished Performance Award. LA BETE received a nomination for Distinguished Revival of a Play, and Mark Rylance (Valere) received an additional nomination for the Distinguished Performance Award. THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES received a nomination for Distinguished Revival of a Play, and Ben Stiller (Artie) and Edie Falco (Bananas) each received a nomination for the Distinguished Performance Award. THE BOOK OF MORMON was nominated for Distinguished Production of a Musical, and Josh Gad (Elder Cunningham) and Andrew Rannells (Elder Price) each received a nomination for the Distinguished Performance Award. Outer Critics Circle, the organisation of writers covering New York theatre for out-of-town newspapers, national publications and other media beyond Broadway, announced their 2010-11 nominations this morning. The winners will be announced on Monday, 16 May and the annual awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, 26 May at the legendary Sardi's Restaurant. JERUSALEM was honoured by Mark Rylance's nomination as Outstanding Actor in a Play. THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES received two nominations: Edie Falco for Outstanding Actress in a Play, and Allison Pill (Corinna Stroller) for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play. THE BOOK OF MORMON was nominated for Outstanding New Broadway Musical and Outstanding New Score, and the production also received the following nominations: Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker for Outstanding Director of a Musical, Casey Nicholaw for Outstanding Choreographer, Josh Gad for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and Nikki M. James for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical. Up Up

Back to News & Press The Sunshine Boys tickets for Neil Simon's classic comedy go on sale this Sunday Thursday 18 July 2013 David Krumholtz joins Danny DeVito and Judd Hirsch in Neil Simon’s classic comedy “The Sunshine Boys,” which goes on sale Sunday, July 21, 2013, at 11 a.m. at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre box office at the Los Angeles Music Center, through CTG’s Audience Services at (213) 972-4400 and online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org . Directed by Thea Sharrock, previews for “The Sunshine Boys” begin September 24, with the opening scheduled for October 2. Performances will continue through November 3. David Krumholtz is known for his vast array of characters over the many years, most notably in “Numb3rs” with Judd Hirsch (who played Krumholtz’s father). This summer he co-starred in the ensemble comedy “This Is the End,” and he recently starred in “Partners” and recurred on “The Newsroom.” Other TV includes “Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie” and “The Playboy Club.” Film credits include “Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” “Superbad,” “Walk Hard,” “Bobby,” “Ray,” “Serenity,” “The Santa Clause 2,” “Slums of Beverly Hills,” “The Mexican,” “Sidewalks of New York,” “Scorched,” “Ten Things I Hate About You,” all three “Harold and Kumar” films and Barry Levinson’s acclaimed “Liberty Heights.” DeVito and Hirsch are reuniting on the Ahmanson stage 30 years after they both starred in the landmark television series “Taxi.” In “The Sunshine Boys,” Willie Clark (DeVito) and Al Lewis (Hirsch) are former vaudevillian stars who, after a partnership of over 40 years, are no longer speaking to each other. When Clark’s nephew, Ben (Krumholtz), gets a lucrative television offer for Lewis and Clark to give one last show, the two are lured into a grudging reunion and sparks fly in this classic comedy of showbiz and friendship. Up Up

Back to News & Press Full Broadway cast announced for Patriots Tuesday 27 February 2024 Producers are pleased to announce full Broadway casting for the Almeida Theatre production of Patriots , the shockingly timely new play by Peter Morgan , creator of “The Crown.” Directed by three-time Olivier Award winner and Artistic Director of the Almeida Rupert Goold , Patriots will open April 22, 2024 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street). Previews will begin April 1, 2024. Tickets for the strictly limited 12-week engagement are on sale at Telecharge.com , 212-239-6200. Patriots , which won the 2023 Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Play, comes to Broadway following a record-breaking run at London’s Almeida Theatre where it was the fastest-selling new play in the theatre’s history, and a sold out 12-week run in the West End at the Noël Coward Theatre, where it recouped its investment. In 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the new Russia belongs to its oligarchs – and no one is more powerful than billionaire Boris Berezovsky. “If the politicians cannot save Russia,” he insists, “then we businessmen must.” When an eventual successor to President Boris Yeltsin is needed, Berezovsky turns to the little-known deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin (Keen). But soon Putin’s ruthless rise threatens Berezovsky’s reign, setting off a riveting, near-Shakespearean confrontation between the two powerful, fatally flawed men. As previously announced, Tony and Emmy Award nominee Michael Stuhlbarg (Broadway: The Pillowman ; Film: A Serious Man , Call Me by Your Name ; Television: “Boardwalk Empire”) will return to Broadway for the first time in almost 20 years to star as Boris Berezovsky. Original London cast member Will Keen will make his Broadway debut, recreating his mesmerizing Olivier Award-winning performance as Vladimir Putin. Original London cast member Luke Thallon (Evening Standard Award nominee for the Almeida’s Albion ) will also make his Broadway debut as Russian oligarch and politician Roman Abramovich. The 18-member cast will also feature Stella Baker (Television: “The Republic of Sarah,” “Tell Me Your Secrets”) as Marina Litvinenko; Ronald Guttman (Broadway: Coastal Disturbances ; Almeida/West End: Patriots; Film:The Hunt for Red October ) as Professor Perelman; Alex Hurt (Broadway: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ; Television: “Bonding,” “The Good Fight”) as Alexander Litvinenko; Rosie Benton (Broadway: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time , Stick Fly ) as Berezovsky’s Mother & Others; Jeff Biehl (Broadway: Machinal ) as Teacher/FSB Boss & Others; Peter Bradbury (Broadway: The Shark is Broken , Hangmen ) as Voloshin/Nurse & Others; Camila Canó-Flaviá (Broadway: Network ; Off-Broadway: Mac Beth , The Coast Starlight ) as Tatiana/Nina Berezovsky & Others; Marianna Gailus (Training: Juilliard) as Katya & Others; Paul Kynman (Almeida/West End: Patriots ; Film: Clash of the Titans , Asteroid City ) as Korzhakov/Yeltsin & Others; Adam Poss (Television: “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Fire”) as Lawyer/Home Office & Others; and Nick Rehberger (Broadway: Fiddler on the Roof , The Glass Menagerie ) as Assistant/Kahneman & Others. Understudies are Benjamin Bonenfant (New York: Theatre for a New Audience, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival), Danielle Chaves (Regional: Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Joe Forbrich (Film: Bridge of Spies ; TV: “Law & Order”) and Tony Ward (Broadway: The Audience , Twelfth Night/Richard III ). The creative team for Patriots features three-time Tony Award nominated set designer Miriam Buether , co-costume designers Deborah Andrews and Miriam Buether , lighting designer Jack Knowles , Tony Award-winning sound designer and composer Adam Cork , projection designer Ash J Woodward and movement director Polly Bennett . Production Stage Manager is Scott Rollison . Casting is by Jim Carnahan, CSA . US general management is by TT Partners . Patriots is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions , Netflix , Nederlander Presentations , Richard Winkler , Stephanie P. McClelland , Ted Snowdon , Jamie deRoy /Ken Greiner , and Richard Batchelder . Up Up

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 The Mountaintop, Mark Rylance and Ultz Triumph at the 2010 Oliver Awards Monday 22 March 2010 Set the night before the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, it starred David Harewood as the famous civil rights leader and Lorraine Burroughs (also nominated in the Best Actress category) as the maid in his Memphis motel with whom he has an illuminating encounter. Mark Rylance was named Best Actor for his portrayal of local waster Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron in JERUSALEM. Jez Butterworth’s play opened at the Royal Court last summer and was transferred by SFP earlier this year to the Apollo theatre, where it plays to 24 April. This is Rylance’s second Laurence Olivier Award; he won Best Actor in 1994 for Much Ado About Nothing. He was most recently nominated in 2008 for his role in BOEING-BOEING. Ultz also triumphed in the Best Set Design category for his work on JERUSALEM, taking home the coveted bronze statuette for his leafy design of a Wiltshire wood. Up Up

Back to News & Press Ghosts to transfer to the Trafalgar Studios Tuesday 19 November 2013 The Almeida Theatre’s five-star production of Ibsen’s Ghosts, adapted and directed by Richard Eyre, will transfer to Trafalgar Studios, playing from Tuesday 17 December. Lesley Manville, Jack Lowden, Brian McCardie and Charlene McKenna will reprise their roles and are joined by Adam Kotz as Pastor Manders. Richard Eyre was announced as Best Director for Ghosts at Sunday’s Evening Standard Theatre Awards. Lesley Manville was nominated for the Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress and the production’s Designer Tim Hatley and Lighting Designer Peter Mumford were jointly nominated for Best Design. 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. Multi award-winning theatre, film and television actor Lesley Manville 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. Up Up

Back to News & Press King Lear cast announced for BBC Two and Amazon Prime Video Wednesday 4 October 2017 BBC Two, Amazon Prime Video, Golden Globe®, BAFTA®, and RTS® Award-winning drama producer Playground and Olivier® and Tony® Award-winning producer Sonia Friedman Productions announced that Anthony Hopkins (The Dresser , Nixon , Silence of the Lambs ) and Emma Thompson (The Children Act , The Remains of the Day , Sense and Sensibility ) reunite in their third collaboration and lead an all-star cast for their upcoming production of Shakespeare’s King Lear , adapted and directed by BAFTA® and Olivier® Award-winning director Richard Eyre (The Dresser , Notes on a Scandal ). Principal photography begins this month. The film for television is commissioned by the BBC and will premiere on BBC Two in the UK in 2018. Amazon Studios is co-producing and taking US and German rights. Amazon Prime Video will also air the drama in the UK, following the BBC’s run. Set in the fictional present, King Lear sees Academy® Award winner Anthony Hopkins as the eponymous ruler, presiding over a totalitarian military dictatorship in England. Academy® Award and BAFTA® Award winner Emma Thompson stars as his oldest daughter Goneril. Academy® Award nominee and BAFTA® Award winner Emily Watson (Theory of Everything , Genius ) stars as his middle daughter Regan, and rising star Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth , Marcella ) as Cordelia, the youngest of Lear’s children. Academy® Award and BAFTA® Award winner Jim Broadbent (Iris , Game of Thrones ) takes the role of the Earl of Gloucester, BAFTA® Award winner Andrew Scott (Sherlock , The Hollow Crown ) as his loyal son Edgar and John Macmillan (Hanna , Chewing Gum ) as his illegitimate son Edmund. Emmy® Award nominated Jim Carter (Downton Abbey , Cranford ) takes the role of the Earl of Kent, Emmy® Award winner Christopher Eccleston (The Leftovers , Thor: The Dark World ) as Oswald, and Golden Globe® nominee Tobias Menzies (Outlander , The Terror ) plays the Duke of Cornwall. Anthony Calf (New Tricks , Riviera ) plays the Duke of Albany and Karl Johnson (Wittgenstein , Rome ) is set to play Lear’s loyal jester the Fool. “It is a tribute to the great Richard Eyre that we have brought together such a remarkable cast. The film is a testament to the BBC’s on-going commitment to the single drama, and we are very appreciative of their continued support, ” Colin Callender , and Sonia Friedman , Executive Producers said. “We are particularly excited to be working with Amazon and their support for the film reflects their emergence as a leading global brand of top quality drama.” Piers Wenger , Controller of BBC Drama, said: “Richard Eyre has assembled an unmissable cast to embody his vision for a timeless but deeply resonant screen adaptation of King Lear. We are all looking forward to seeing this landmark production come to life on BBC Two.” “Playground has an incredible track record of producing award-worthy series and films, and we are delighted to work with them and SFP on bringing such a star-studded, exciting adaptation to Prime members,” said Brad Beale, Vice President, Worldwide TV Content Acquisition, Amazon Prime Video. King Lear has been commissioned by Charlotte Moore at the BBC, and will be produced by Playground (Wolf Hall, Howards End, Little Women ) and Sonia Friedman Productions (The Dresser ) in association with Lemaise Pictures Limited for BBC Two. The drama is a co-production with Amazon Studios. The producer is Noëlette Buckley (The Dresser, Wolf Hall ). Executive producers are Colin Callender and Scott Huff for Playground , Sonia Friedman for Sonia Friedman Productions , and Lucy Richer for the BBC. Great Point Media will represent international rights in the project from MIPCOM 2017. Up Up

Back to News & Press Bend It Like Beckham wins 'Best Musical' at this year's Critics' Circle Theatre Awards Tuesday 26 January 2016 The winners were announced on 26 January following a lunchtime ceremony at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Producer Sonia Friedman picked up the award, along with director Gurinder Chadha, book writer Paul Mayeda Berges, composer Howard Goodall and cast members Natalie Dew, Lauren Samuels, Jamie Muscato, Sophie – Louise Dann, Jamal Andreas and Tony Jayawardena. Bend It Like Beckham The Musical recently extended booking at the Phoenix Theatre to 5 March 2016 when the show will then play its final performance at the end of the cast’s year-long contract. Up Up

Back to News & Press Evening Standard Power List 2024 Tuesday 19 November 2024 Sonia Friedman has shaped the West End in the last decade like no other producer, moving effortlessly from blockbuster crowd-pleasers (The Book of Mormon , Mean Girls , Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , Stranger Things: The First Shadow ), to championing plays – both classic and new. Her current production slate in London includes Juno and the Paycock at the Gielgud Theatre starring Mark Rylance and J Smith Cameron ; and Robert Icke’s Oedipus at the Wyndham’s Theatre starring Mark Strong and Lesley Manville . Add to that, a new stage adaptation of The Shining , and a huge slate of new shows in development or coming soon. The Evening Standard says: “Friedman is the most influential theatre producer in the city. From Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to a critically acclaimed adaptation of Stranger Things, her company has put on more than 200 shows since 2002. These have won more than 300 major awards — including the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play on five occasions.” Full article here. Up Up

Back to News & Press Wolf Hall wins Best Limited Series or TV Movie at 73rd Golden Globe awards Monday 11 January 2016 Wolf Hall, based on Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize-winning novels, has been named Best Limited Series or TV Movie at the 73rd annual Golden Globe awards ceremony hosted by Ricky Gervais in Beverly Hills. Starring Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis, Wolf Hall was named Best Limited Series or TV Movie in a category that also included American Horror Story, American Crime, Fargo and Flesh and Bone. Other nods for Wolf Hall included a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Damian Lewis. Wolf Hall presents an intimate and provocative portrait of Thomas Cromwell, the brilliant and enigmatic consigliere to King Henry VIII, as he manoeuvres the corridors of power at the Tudor court. Mark Rylance is Thomas Cromwell, the son of a brutal blacksmith who rises from the ashes of personal disaster, and deftly picks his way through a court where ‘man is wolf to man.’ Damian Lewis is King Henry VIII, haunted by his brother’s premature death and obsessed with protecting the Tudor dynasty by securing his succession with a male heir to the throne. Told from Cromwell’s perspective, Wolf Hall follows the complex machinations and back room dealings of this pragmatic and accomplished power broker – from humble beginnings and with an enigmatic past – who must serve king and country while dealing with deadly political intrigue, Henry VIII’s tempestuous relationship with Anne Boleyn and the religious upheavals of the Protestant reformation. Shown on BBC2 and PBS Wolf Hall is a Playground Entertainment and Company Pictures production for BBC and MASTERPIECE in association with BBC Worldwide, Altus Media and Prescience. Executive producers are John Yorke for Company Pictures, Polly Hill, BBC Head of Independent Drama, for BBC TWO, Rebecca Eaton for MASTERPIECE, Martin Rakusen and Ben Donald for BBC Worldwide and Tim Smith for Prescience. Associate producer is Sonia Friedman for Sonia Friedman Productions. Executive Producer is Colin Callender. Producer is Mark Pybus. The writer is Peter Straughan. The director is Peter Kosminsky. MASTERPIECE is presented on PBS by WGBH Boston. Rebecca Eaton is Executive Producer. Viking River Cruises is the exclusive corporate funder of Wolf Hall on MASTERPIECE on PBS, with additional funding provided by The MASTERPIECE Trust. Up Up