Back to Productions TOGETHER – FILM This production first aired on BBC on 17th June 2021. A tour de force of writing and acting. The Guardian This is the story of a family, like so many, who found a way to survive - together. It is the hilarious and heart-breaking story of a husband and wife who are forced to re-evaluate themselves and their relationship through the reality of lockdown. Brilliantly captures the borderline madness of the past year. The Herald Written by Dennis Kelly and directed by Stephen Daldry A Shoebox Films and Sonia Friedman Production for BBC Film and BBC TWO BAFTA award-winning and Golden Globe-nominated James McAvoy (Split, X-Men franchise, His Dark Materials ) and BAFTA award-winning and Emmy nominated Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Military Wives ) star in multi-award-winning writer, Dennis Kelly ’s (Utopia, Pulling, The Third Day ) searingly funny and painfully poignant love story, Together . Directed by the Academy, Emmy and BAFTA award-winning director, Stephen Daldry (The Crown, Billy Elliot, The Reader ) the film is set in the UK from the first days of the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020 until the present day. Together is produced by Guy Heeley (Locke, Denial, London Spy ) and the multi-award-winning West End and Broadway theatre producer Sonia Friedman (TV credits include: Uncle Vanya, The Dresser, Wolf Hall). Unflinching and very funny. The Independent CAST JAMES MCAVOY – He SHARRON HORGAN – She SAMUEL LOGAN – Artie CREATIVES DENNIS KELLY – Writer STEPHEN DALDRY – Director JUSTIN MARTIN – Co-Director

Back to News & Press Sonia Friedman, the formidable producer, says that despite the recession, business in Theatreland is booming Wednesday, 30 December 2009 It is a struggle to see the similarities between the ditzy, Chihuahua-carrying, all-things-pink loving shopaholic heroine of Legally Blonde, and Sonia Friedman, the powerhouse producer who is bringing the musical adaptation of the 2001 Hollywood film starring Reese Witherspoon to the West End. But Friedman, one of the world's most successful theatre producers, admits with mild embarrassment that the story of Elle Woods, a homecoming queen dumped by her boyfriend for someone more "serious", who cures her heartbreak by hitting the books at Harvard Law School, struck a deep chord with her when she first saw the show on Broadway. "I was feeling particularly gloomy and depressed that day, and at the interval I just felt like someone had given me an injection of adrenaline," she says. "As a woman, I just fell for it and I loved its message. On a more profound level, though it's difficult to talk about this without sounding pretentious, I sort of identified with Elle. It's embarrassing, but I did. Because Elle is a great role model for women. She shows that there's nothing wrong with wearing pretty clothes and lipstick, while still being a strong woman. "This story about a girl who is assumed can't have a career because she likes wearing a pink tracksuit appealed to me." Britain's theatre-goers seem to agree. During its preview run, Legally Blonde, The Musical attracted a "Beatlemania-like atmosphere" among its predominantly female audiences. It has since been hailed as a recession-bucking success, taking a reported £2million in advance ticket sales. The frothy, feel-good show is a major departure from the critically-acclaimed but less obviously commercial productions that Friedman usually takes on. Her recent productions include Shakespeare's Othello, Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, Harold Pinter's No-Man's Land, and The Norman Conquests by Alan Ayckbourn. Legally Blonde, The Musical seems to jar with such a heavyweight back catalogue. Sitting at a desk in the offices of Sonia Friedman Productions above the reknowned Duke of York's in the heart of Theatreland, Friedman explains her unusual choice. "As a woman working in a man's world - and it is a man's world, without question, whatever man tells you it's not - I wanted to do it. For years, women have had to mould themselves into the style of what a man imagines a tough woman to be, and I started my career thinking I should wear a suit and carry a briefcase." Today, Friedman's uniform is jeans and knee-high leather boots. From 1989 to 1993, Friedman was a producer at the National Theatre, where she says sexism was rife. "People said I only got the job because I was pretty, I only got the job because I wore a mini skirt - all this s***." She rolls her eyes recalling an incident when her outfit for a meeting at the Arts Council raised eyebrows among her colleagues. "I was wearing a pair of PVC trousers - I was very young and they were very trendy at the time, honestly," she laughs. "But a man came up to me and said: 'You can't wear that, they won't take you seriously.' "So I went along with the PVC trousers on anyway. The meeting went fine, and I got exactly what I wanted from it. Nobody mentioned my trousers." She concedes that little has changed. "I still get it now. I am accused all the time of having affairs with men who are very powerful and successful in this business. If I am working with them, it is apparently not because I'm good at my job, but because I'm having an affair with them. "Only last week someone took me to one side and said: 'I think you should know there's a rumour about you and so-and-so.' Sadly, I'm as single as you can be. I don't even know whether it's men or women who start these rumours - it almost doesn't matter - but being one of the few women in this industry, it comes at me a lot." Friedman manages to keep remarkably cool on such a sensitive subject. "I hate it," she says shrugging resignedly. "Thankfully, I'm talking to another woman, because if I was talking to a man I could not have this conversation. If a woman talks about working in a man's world, we come across as feminists, and I'm most definitely not a feminist. I'm just a woman doing a job. "I actually get annoyed when I'm described as 'one of the top female producers'. I don't want to be one of the top female producers, I want to be one of the top producers." Friedman is without doubt exactly that, and despite the recession, business in theatreland is booming. She is encouraged by the recent success of "big-issue plays" like the sell-out run of Enron at the Royal Court, and David Hare's The Power of Yes at the National, which have stood shoulder to shoulder in sales with the safe-bet, feelgood musicals. Jerusalem, Jez Butterworth's comic take on Britain's broken society was another hit at the Royal Court earlier this year, which Friedman will take to the West End in January. "I think people are very interested in the state of the nation, and where we are at the moment," she says. "Jerusalem is an example of an epic piece about who we are, the break down of society, the rural world we live in and all those big ideas. "We are all trying to search for answers as to the mess we're in. The confusion of the wars, why we're doing it, what's going on. I think we're looking to our art to give us some answers. We [theatre] can do that very well, without being didactic or lecturing. It can really make us think about why we are where we are, and we don't have our politicians doing that for us. "In times of certainty - call them the 'Thatcher years' - where it was very definite what was going on, whether you agreed with it or not, there was less powerful theatre around. But it's in times of uncertainty that artists rise up and emerge and start to ask the questions. Right now, people haven't got a clue what is going on, I know I don't, and I am certainly looking to writers to try and help me." Performance was always in Friedman's blood. Her father, Leonard Friedman, a Jewish violinist born to Russian immigrant parents, was one of the most eminent musicians of his day, and her mother Clair an equally talented concert pianist. Her sister Maria is an award-winning stage singer, her brother Richard is a violinist, and her younger half-brother Ben is a playwright. Only one sister, Sarah, a scientist, has not followed in the Friedmans performing footsteps. "I grew up in north London in a very bohemian household. We woke up to lots of music and chaos," she recalls, adding that she was even the star of her very own show at just six years old. "I would come into the living room and say in a squeaky voice, 'Welcome to the Sonia Friedman show', and my family would come on and sing and do readings." Home now for Friedman, 44, is a converted pub in Stepney Green, east London which she has spent six years lovingly renovating. "I'm the happiest I've ever been, because my pub is full of my family," she says. "My brother, sister, brother-in-law and nephew are all living there at the moment. We're on the piano the whole time, and it's like being back in my childhood. I can get home from work after a very tense day of being an adult, and pretend to be a little girl again." After cutting her teeth at the National Theatre, where much to her delight, Harold Pinter once asked her to write a "pause" into a prop script, Friedman set up Out of Joint theatre company with the Royal Court's former artistic director, Max Stafford-Clark. In 2002, she founded Sonia Friedman Productions, a subsidiary of the Ambassadors Theatre Group, the largest theatre owner in the world. Like an ever-increasing number of West End shows, Legally Blonde, The Musical will be led by a cast of television and pop stars including Sheridan Smith and Jill Halfpenny, actresses best known for their roles in Gavin and Stacey and EastEnders. Duncan James, a former member of the boy band Blue, will play the male lead. Has the West End, perhaps, become too obsessed with the film and television "star" draws at the expense of lesser-known but more capable actors? "What you have to think about is does it compromise the work?" says Friedman. "Has it raised the bar so high that audiences are expecting a 'star' to be in everything? Does that star have the experience? And very often they do but sometimes they don't," she says. "Film stars who can who can act really well and who have stage craft are few and far between. "I read today that Abi Titmuss is playing Lady Macbeth," she continues, raising a sceptical eyebrow. "I wouldn't do that. The fact is Abi Titmuss has been cast because they know that's a sensational idea." Despite having just opened two shows on Broadway - A Little Night Music starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury, and A View from the Bridge with Scarlett Johansson - Friedman has no fewer than 56 projects on her "to-do list", including developing a musical adaptation of the film Shakespeare in Love. Gathering up her Bichon Frise, Teddy, who has been snoozing on the sofa beside me, Friedman laughs when I point out that with her penchant for pocket-size show dogs, she does indeed share a passion with Legally Blonde's heroine, Elle. For such a tough and outspoken businesswoman, I tell her Teddy seems a rather fluffy accessory. In response, she picks up a piece of paper from her desk on which she has scribbled a recent quote from the American senator, Diane Feinstein. It reads: "Toughness doesn't have to come in a pinstripe suit." Source: Daily Telegraph, 24th December 2009 - full article here . Up Up

Back to News & Press Sonia Friedman: Everyone was looking to me, so I took the decision Tuesday, 16 March 2021 Sonia Friedman said, ‘In March 2020, I had 19 productions either running or about to go into rehearsals around the world. On March 6, I wrote in a notebook: “Prepare for a shutdown of six, eight or 12 weeks. Discuss ramifications of a 12-week shutdown with theatre owners and mitigating actions.” That’s what the thinking was. At 5pm on the 16th, the public was told not to go to the theatre, but there was no mandate to shut us down. There was about 10 minutes of “What am I meant to do?” Everyone was looking to me, so I took the decision. I sent each of my associate producers to the theatres and said ‘Tell them we can’t continue’. I then had to start dismantling dozens of productions. It was a while before the enormity of it hit me. It was very distressing and I don’t quite know why I didn’t have a breakdown but I was close to it. It took me about 15 weeks to go back to the West End. I stood outside Leopoldstadt at the Wyndham’s, having passed Harry Potter on the way. The scale of the loss was so immense, I thought: ‘How do we come back from this?’” I’m still asking that question.’ Full article can be read here . Up Up

Back to News & Press Sonia Friedman: Everyone in British theatre will need to work together to overcome this crisis Thursday, 26 March 2020 It’s a week since we shut down the West End in the most shocking way, and the world has changed beyond all estimation. We are waking up to a nationwide lockdown. It feels like an extended and terrifying episode of Black Mirror. None of this feels real. But it is. Our industry is coming to terms with a prolonged closure. That’s not in our nature. It is human nature to socialise, to come together, to commune – particularly in times of crisis. Some theatres stayed open throughout most of the Second World War, Broadway bounced back after 9/11. This time around, we had no option. Shutting our shows was the right thing to do. The only thing to do. Our industry has done the unimaginable this month. My company alone shut down or suspended 11 shows worldwide over the course of just five days, with more to come. All other organisations have had to do the same. Hundreds of thousands of shows, big and small, have come down in no time at all. The inconceivable quickly became inevitable. Of course, shows don’t just stop. They have to be shuttered safely. That took a herculean collective effort right across the board – from casts, stage management, crews and ushers to stage management teams overseeing depleted and confused companies. From venue staff welcoming anxious audiences to box-office workers issuing exchanges and refunds en masse. And then there’s the producing and admin teams who are having to go through the unbelievably complex and emotional process of closing down or suspending their productions against a backdrop of huge uncertainty and lockdown. Everyone has played a part in something truly historic, and the professionalism and dedication on show has been utterly inspiring to watch. We will need more. We know that many freelance and self-employed workers in the theatre will be in desperate need if further government measures are not put in place very soon to support them financially. British theatre will bounce back from this, but it will take time and it will need support. British theatre is facing a challenge like never before. In the commercial sector, our margins are very tight even in the best of times and we survive by the box office; with our productions shut, we are not only in limbo but in crisis. None of us know how long these closures will last. As an industry, we’re working this out in real-time and we are, frankly, facing only the first of many, many challenges to come. We will rise to them, but to do so, we will need to work together. British theatre will bounce back from this, but it will take time and it will need support. Ours is a resourceful and resilient art form, but just as shows don’t simply stop, they can’t simply start up again on the other side either. Our world has changed and it will not simply change back. Because, for theatre, an extended closure is not just a pause or a period of hibernation. We won’t be in a position to pick up where we left off. Normal service won’t resume straight away. The nature of our business means we can’t store stock to sell next summer or fire up production lines once this is over. Shows will need re-rehearsing and companies reforming. Audiences will need encouraging back into theatres and advances will have to be rebuilt. Tourism will take a long time to recover. All this as investors are being hit by a global slowdown. Theatre is not alone in facing challenges, but it is among this country’s greatest assets. The West End remains a major economic driver, contributing almost £800 million in revenue annually and generating more than £133 million in VAT alone. We are worth the support we will need to bring back in – not just from government, but from our audiences too, and from each other. We will all have to work together – producers and theatre owners, artists and agents, backstage and front-of-house staff – with the single objective to get our beloved industry back on its feet as soon as possible. In the wider social context, British theatre will have a huge part to play once this is all over. It will be a time to come together again, to celebrate our existence, to reflect, to entertain and escape. It will do its bit for a wider recovery. We are in the business of bringing people together. That is the very reason we’ve had to shut our doors temporarily and, in due course, we will need and value that all the more. The world may have changed, but people have not. Up Up

Back to Productions THE BIRTHDAY PARTY This production began performances on 9th January and closed on 14th April 2018. ★★★★★ A fantastic revival of a darkly comic masterpiece The Telegraph Stanley Webber ( Toby Jones ) is the only lodger at Meg ( Zoë Wanamaker ) and Petey Boles’ ( Pete Wight ) sleepy seaside boarding house. The unsettling arrival of enigmatic strangers Goldberg ( Stephen Mangan ) and McCann ( Tom Vaughan-Lawlor ) disrupts the humdrum lives of the inhabitants and their friend Lulu ( Pearl Mackie ), and mundanity soon becomes menace when a seemingly innocent birthday party turns into a disturbing nightmare. Truth and alliances hastily shift in Pinter's landmark play about the absurd terrors of the everyday. ★★★★★ Ian Rickson’s superlative revival confirms afresh that this is a darkly comic masterpiece The Telegraph Following critically acclaimed productions of Betrayal , and Old Times , Ian Rickson returns to direct a new production of Harold Pinter ’s landmark play, The Birthday Party . Starring in this comedy of menace are a trio of Olivier Award winners, Golden Globe Award-nominated Toby Jones (The Girl, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Infamous ), Tony Award-nominated Stephen Mangan (The Norman Conquests, Jeeves and Wooster, Episodes ) and Tony Award-nominated Zoë Wanamaker CBE (Electra, Passion Play, My Family ). ★★★★ An extravaganza of talent. You couldn’t wish for a better revival than this The Times CAST TOBY JONES – Stanley STEPHEN MANGAN – Goldberg ZOË WANAMAKER – Meg PEARL MACKIE – Lulu TOM VAUGHAN-LAWLOR – McCann PETER WIGHT – Petey CREATIVES IAN RICKSON – Director QUAY BROTHERS – Designer HUGH VANSTONE – Lighting Designer SIMON BAKER – Sound Designer STEPHEN WARBECK – Music AMY BALL – Casting

Back to News & Press Drama Desk nominations announced Monday, 3 May 2010 The nominations for the 2009-10 Drama Desk Awards were announced yesterday, with LA CAGE AUX FOLLES receiving 7 nominations and A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC and A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE both receiving 3 nominations: Outstanding Revival of a Play A View From the Bridge Outstanding Revival of a Musical A Little Night Music La Cage aux Folles Outstanding Actor in a Play Liev Schreiber, A View From the Bridge Outstanding Actor in a Musical Douglas Hodge, La Cage aux Folles Outstanding Actress in a Musical Catherine Zeta-Jones, A Little Night Music Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Scarlett Johansson, A View From the Bridge Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Robin de Jesus, La Cage aux Folles Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Angela Lansbury, A Little Night Music Outstanding Director of a Musical Terry Johnson, La Cage aux Folles Outstanding Choreography Lynne Page, La Cage aux Folles Outstanding Costume Design Matthew Wright, La Cage aux Folles Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical Jonathan Deans, La Cage aux Folles It was also announced that Jerry Herman would be honoured with a special award for "enchanting and dazzling audiences with his exuberant music and heartfelt lyrics for more than half a century". Up Up

Back to News & Press NT Live broadcast of Hamlet is highest grossing event cinema opening of 2015 Thursday, 15 October 2015 Rentrak are reporting that HAMLET was the top grossing box office in UK and Ireland on 15 October and, although so far having only played for one evening, is currently standing at number 3 on the week. Sales currently stand at £1.7 million with many venues still to report and encore screenings planned from 22 October. The production, directed by Lyndsey Turner and produced by Sonia Friedman Productions was broadcast live to 87% of UK cinemas and thousands more around the world direct from the stage of the Barbican Theatre in London. The cast also includes Leo Bill (Horatio), Siân Brooke (Ophelia), Anastasia Hille (Gertrude), Ciarán Hinds (Claudius), Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Laertes) Karl Johnson (Ghost, Gravedigger) and Jim Norton (Polonius). Prior to the broadcast Benedict Cumberbatch said “It feels truly thrilling to be opening up our theatre production of Hamlet to the wider reach of a National Theatre Live audience. The idea that people who can't get to the theatre, for whatever reason, can join us for one night in cinemas around the country - and indeed the world - is extraordinary. Each screening will doubtless have its own atmosphere, but wherever you’re watching, thanks to the brilliance of the National Theatre Live team, you’ll be right at the heart of the action, in the best seat in the house” As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father’s death but paralysed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state. Benedict Cumberbatch is an international multi-award winning theatre, television and film actor. His recent stage credits for the National Theatre include After the Dance and alternating the Creature and Dr Frankenstein, in Danny Boyle's production of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for which he won the Olivier, Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle Best Actor awards. He is currently best known for playing the title role in the BBC’s Sherlock and will be seen next year as Richard III in The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses. His film work includes Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Star Trek into Darkness, 12 Years a Slave, The Fifth Estate, August: Osage County and the role of Smaug in The Hobbit trilogy. Cumberbatch has been nominated for BAFTA, Golden Globe and Academy Awards for his role playing Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. Lyndsey Turner’s directing credits include Fathers and Sons and Philadelphia, Here I Come! for the Donmar Warehouse, Machinal for the Roundabout Theatre, Chimerica at the Almeida and in the West End, Posh for the Royal Court and in the West End, There Is A War and Edgar and Annabel for the National Theatre, Alice and The Way Of The World for Sheffield Theatres and Our Private Life, Contractions, A Miracle for the Royal Court. Turner was recently appointed as an Associate Director for the National Theatre where she directed Light Shining in Buckinghamshire in April. Sonia Friedman Productions, is a West End and Broadway production company responsible for some of the most successful theatre productions in London and New York. Since 1990, SFP has developed, initiated and produced over 140 new productions and has won numerous Olivier and Tony Awards, winning 6 at this year’s Olivier Awards - including Best New Musical and Best New Play - and a record-breaking 14 at last year’s Olivier Awards, including the quartet of Best New Musical, Best New Play, Best Revival of a Musical and Best Revival of a Play. West End and Broadway productions include the UK premiere of The Book of Mormon, Farinelli and the King, Sunny Afternoon, Bend It Like Beckham, The Nether, The River, Electra, King Charles III, Shakespeare in Love, 1984, Ghosts, Mojo, Chimerica, Merrily We Roll Along, Old Times, Twelfth Night and Richard III, A Chorus of Disapproval, The Sunshine Boys, Hay Fever, Absent Friends, Top Girls, Betrayal, Much Ado About Nothing, Clybourne Park, The Children’s Hour, A Flea in Her Ear, La Bête, All My Sons, Private Lives, Jerusalem, A Little Night Music, Legally Blonde, Othello, Arcadia, The Mountaintop, The Norman Conquests, A View from the Bridge and La Cage aux Folles. Forthcoming productions include Jim Broadbent in A Christmas Carol, Funny Girl at the Menier Chocolate Factory and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (in association with Playground Entertainment’s Colin Callender and JK Rowling). For a full list of SFP’s theatre credits, please visit soniafriedman.com. The full cast of HAMLET is: Barry Aird (Soldier), Eddie Arnold (Danish Captain, Servant), Leo Bill (Horatio), Siân Brooke (Ophelia), Nigel Carrington (Servant, Cornelius), Ruairi Conaghan (Player King), Benedict Cumberbatch (Hamlet), Rudi Dharmalingam (Guildenstern), Colin Haigh (Priest, Messenger), Paul Ham (Official), Diveen Henry (Player Queen, Messenger), Anastasia Hille (Gertrude), Ciarán Hinds (Claudius), Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Laertes), Karl Johnson (Ghost of Hamlet’s father), Jim Norton (Polonius), Amaka Okafor (Official), Dan Parr (Barnardo), Jan Shepherd (Courtier), Morag Siller (Voltemand), Matthew Steer (Rosencrantz), Sergo Vares (Fortinbras) and Dwane Walcott (Marcellus). Set designs are by Es Devlin with costume designs by Katrina Lindsay, video by Luke Halls, lighting by Jane Cox, music by Jon Hopkins, sound by Christopher Shutt, movement by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and fights by Bret Yount. Up Up

Back to Productions THE SHARK IS BROKEN – WEST END This production opened at the Ambassadors Theatre on 9th October 2021 and closed on 13th February 2022. ★★★★ Did I mention waves? Get ready for this play to make some. Do they need a bigger boat? Actually, I think they are going to need a bigger theatre — and soon. The Times ★★★★ Something unexpectedly profound and emotionally serrated lurks below the apparently frothy surface of this dive behind the scenes of the making of JAWS. The Telegraph Cape Cod, 1974: shooting on ‘Jaws’ has stalled. The film’s lead actors – Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss – are stuck on a boat, at the mercy of foul weather and a faulty mechanical co-star. Awash with alcohol and ambition, three hammered sharks start to bare their teeth… ★★★★★ This play packs plenty of bite. Metro CAST IAN SHAW – Robert Shaw DEMETRI GORITSAS – Roy Scheider LIAM MURRAY SCOTT – Richard Dreyfuss CREATIVES IAN SHAW AND JOESEPH NIXON – Writers GUY MASTERSON – Director DUNCAN HENDERSON – Designer JON CLARK – Lighting Designer ADAM CORK – Sound Designer and Original Music NINA DUNN – Video Designer YARIT DOR – Fight Director CAROLE HANCOCK – Wigs, Hair and Make-Up

Back to News & Press Harry Potter and the Cursed Child celebrates 8 years at the Palace Theatre Tuesday, 30 July 2024 Harry Potter and the Cursed Child celebrates its 8th anniversary at London’s Palace Theatre today, 30 July 2024, where it is currently booking until 6 April 2025. Produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions , Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has now been seen by over 1.7 million people in the West End and over 11 million worldwide. There have been 2740 performances of Part One and Part Two combined, totaling 6432 hours of performance from the 46 strong London cast. Over the last eight years 256 cast members have performed in the original London two-part multi award- winning production at the Palace Theatre along with 215 people who have worked backstage to continue to bring Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to life each performance. Writer Jack Thorne said “Making Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was a beautiful experience, working with John and our talented creative team and cast has been a wonderful journey. It really has been a team effort from every person involved in the show, and we are all proud to still be here 8 years on” Director John Tiffany added “We have been on an incredible journey over the last 8 years, from opening the original production at the Palace Theatre in 2016 to taking the show to audiences worldwide. We have collaborated with many wonderful artists over the years, both on and off stage, all of whom have worked tirelessly to bring Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to our fantastic audiences each and every performance” 19 years after Harry, Ron, and Hermione saved the wizarding world, they’re back on a most extraordinary new adventure – this time, joined by a brave new generation that has only just arrived at the legendary Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Prepare for spectacular spells, a mind-blowing race through time, and an epic battle to stop mysterious forces, all while the future hangs in the balance. The cast comprises David Ricardo-Pearce as Harry Potter, Polly Frame playing Ginny Potter and Ellis Rae as their son Albus Potter. Thomas Aldridge plays Ron Weasley with Jade Ogugua playing Hermione Granger along with Taneetrah Porter as their daughter Rose Granger-Weasley. Steve John Shepherd plays Draco Malfoy, with Harry Acklowe as his son Scorpius Malfoy. They are joined by Ishmail Aaron, David Annen, Nairn Archer, Darrell Brockis, Robert Curtis, Toby De Salis, Odelia Dizel-Cubuca, Rory Fraser, Jemma Geanaus, Harry Goodson-Bevan, Jemma Gould, Kelton Hoyland, David Ijiti, Chris Jarman, Sally Jayne Hind, Emma Louise Jones, Kathryn Meisle, Ian Redford, Abigail Rosser, Clancy Ryan, Tonny Shim, Adam Slynn, Sara Stewart, Benjamin Stratton, Maia Tamrakar, Alex Tomkins, Jake Tuesley, Sam Varley, Jess Vickers, Wreh-asha Walton, Katie Wimpenny. Abigail Austin, Oliver Dawson, Layla Duke, Honor Hastings, Aubrey Hayes, Aljosa Radosavljevic and Ethan Webster alternate two children’s roles. Tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child remain priced from £15 per part. The regular performance schedule is Monday, Tuesday and Thursday – no performance; Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 2pm Part One & 7pm Part Two; Sunday - 1pm Part One & 6pm Part Two. The access performances currently on sale are as follows - British Sign Language on Saturday 21 September 2024, Audio Described on Saturday 9 November 2024 and a Captioned Performance on Saturday 16 November 2024. We are excited to announce that this year’s Back To Hogwarts celebrations will include the opportunity to win a place at a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child workshop where people will learn the iconic Wand Dance from the show. The workshop will be run by the production’s Resident Movement Director, Tash Holway, on the morning of 1 September at a Central London venue. To be in with a chance to win a place, enter at harrypottertheplay.com/backtohogwarts / Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany , Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play by Jack Thorne , directed by John Tiffany with movement by Steven Hoggett , set by Christine Jones , costumes by Katrina Lindsay , music & arrangements by Imogen Heap , lighting by Neil Austin , sound by Gareth Fry , illusions & magic by Jamie Harrison , music supervision & arrangements by Martin Lowe , and casting by Julia Horan CDG and Lotte Hines CDG . Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions , Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions . Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , the first Harry Potter story to be presented on stage and the eighth story in the Harry Potter series, holds a record 60 major honors, with nine Laurence Olivier Awards including Best New Play and six Tony Awards including Best New Play. There are four productions running worldwide in London, New York, Hamburg, and Tokyo, with a North American tour starting in September 2024 at Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre. Up Up

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

Back to News & Press Whatsonstage Awards Nominations Announced Thursday, 1 December 2016 Best Actor in a Play, sponsored by Radisson Blu Edwardian Ian Hallard for The Boys in the Band Ian McKellen for No Man's Land Jamie Parker for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Kenneth Branagh for The Entertainer Ralph Fiennes for Richard III Best Actress in a Musical, sponsored by The Hippodrome Casino Amber Riley for Dreamgirls Carrie Hope Fletcher for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Devon-Elise Johnson for Half a Sixpence Glenn Close for Sunset Boulevard Sheridan Smith for Funny Girl Best Supporting Actor in a Play Anthony Boyle for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Derek Jacobi for Romeo and Juliet Freddie Fox for Travesties Jonjo O'Neill for Unreachable Paul Thornley for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Best Supporting Actress in a Play, sponsored by Tonic Theatre Jenna Russell for Doctor Faustus Meera Syal for Romeo and Juliet Noma Dumezweni for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Poppy Miller for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Vanessa Redgrave for Richard III Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, sponsored by Encore Radio Adam J Bernard for Dreamgirls Ian Bartholomew for Half a Sixpence Joel Montague for Funny Girl Trevor Dion Nicholas for Aladdin Tyrone Huntley for Jesus Christ Superstar Best New Play, sponsored by JHI Marketing The Comedy About A Bank Robbery The Flick Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism with a Key to the Scriptures, or iHo The Mother Best New Musical, sponsored by Shine Creative Solutions Aladdin Dreamgirls Groundhog Day Half a Sixpence School of Rock Best Musical Revival, sponsored by R&H Theatricals Europe Funny Girl Jesus Christ Superstar Ragtime Show Boat Sunset Boulevard Best Direction Casey Nicholaw for Aladdin John Tiffany for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Matthew Warchus for Groundhog Day Michael Mayer for Funny Girl Rachel Kavanaugh for Half a Sixpence Best Choreography, sponsored by Encore Radio Andrew Wright for Half a Sixpence Casey Nicholaw for Aladdin Casey Nicholaw for Dreamgirls Drew McOnie for Jesus Christ Superstar Peter Darling for Groundhog Day Best Costume Design Gregg Barnes for Aladdin Gregg Barnes for Dreamgirls Katrina Lindsay for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Matthew Wright for Funny Girl Paul Brown for Half a Sixpence Best Set Design Bob Crowley for Aladdin Christine Jones for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Lez Brotherston for Show Boat Miriam Buether for Wild Rob Howell for Groundhog Day Best Lighting Design, sponsored by White Light Charlie Morgan Jones for Little Shop of Horrors Hugh Vanstone for Groundhog Day Jack Weir for The Boys in the Band Natasha Katz for Aladdin Neil Austin for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Best Video Design, sponsored by PRG XL Video Andrzej Goulding for Groundhog Day Finn Ross and Ash Woodward for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Finn Ross for The Tempest (RSC) Laura Perrett for Murder Ballad Tal Yarden for Lazarus Up Up

< All jobs Head of Stage - MEAN GIRLS Application Deadline: 28 Oct 2024 Apply Now London, UK About the Role Sonia Friedman Productions is seeking applications for full-time, experienced Head of Stage to work on the London production of MEAN GIRLS. Book by Tina Fey, music by Jeff Richmond, lyrics by Nell Benjamin and Directed and Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw - this musical opened in the West End in June 2024. The Head of Stage will work closely with the Stage Manager, Company Manager and creative team in executing the stage needs of the production. Key responsibilities include: - Assisting in the daily running of the production, in conjunction with the Stage and Stage Management Teams - Taking responsibility for the running of the Stage Department and managing of Stage Crew, including department scheduling - Working with the Company Manager and Stage Manager to ensure the show is always full staffed and keeping the General Manager informed of the need for recruitment of additional staff or deps when necessary - Ensuring new staff are trained in the safe and competent running of the show - Carrying out stage cues including moving scenery, furniture and props - Writing up a comprehensive and easy to understand cue sheet so the show can be covered in the event of absence and compiling of these cue sheets from the rest of the department - Keeping the stage, dock and backstage areas clean and safe and ensuring entrances and exits are well-maintained and kept clear - Ensuring all staff and areas for which you are responsible adhere to health and safety regulations - Carrying out maintenance of set and prop elements informing the Stage Manager and Production Manager if further work from outside contractors is required - Working with other departments to maintain the show to the highest possible standards. Essential experience includes: - Previous senior stage role on a large-scale West End production. - Experience of managing Stage Crew - Experience running deck plots and an understanding of stage etiquette - An understanding and practical knowledge of the principles and safe working practices of theatre rigging, automation systems and set construction - Advanced stage carpentry skills - Excellent communication skills - We are committed to a workplace that embraces diversity and inclusion. We particularly welcome and encourage applications from those currently underrepresented in our workforce.