Sonia Friedman
Sonia Friedman is a British West End and Broadway theatre producer, hailed as a seven years in a row, as well as "the most powerful producer working in theater" by the in 2025. Friedman was also listed as one of most influential women working today in 2025. On 27 January 2017, Friedman was named Producer of the Year for the third year running at The Stage Awards, becoming the first person to win the award three times. In 2018, Friedman was featured in "TIME100", Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People of 2018 and was named Broadway Briefing's Show Person of the Year. In 2019, Sonia Friedman Productions was ranked The Stage 's most influential theatre producer in The Stage 100. Sonia Friedman CBE was featured in The Standard 100, a celebratory feature of the key power players shaping London in 2024.
Early life
Friedman is the youngest of four children of Clair Llewelyn , a concert pianist, and violinist Leonard Freedman, who was leader of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Thomas Beecham and co-founder of many national institutions including the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Scottish Baroque Ensemble. Her father was from a Russian-Jewish immigrant family, and her mother is English. She is the younger sister of the actress and director Maria Friedman, the great violinist Richard Friedman, and Dr Sarah Beecham.Career
Theatre producer
After working at the National Theatre between 1988 and 1993, she co-founded the new writing theatre company Out of Joint in 1993 with Max Stafford-Clark. From 1998, Friedman worked as a producer for the Ambassador Theatre Group. She launched her own theatre company, Sonia Friedman Productions, in 2002. Friedman's productions have been nominated for and won numerous Olivier, Tony and other awards.At the 2014 Olivier Awards, Sonia Friedman Productions made Olivier Awards history by winning the most awards for any producer and for winning prizes for Best New Play, Best New Musical , Best Play Revival and Best Musical Revival. In 2017, Friedman won producer of the year at The Stage Awards for a third year, and was listed as no. 1 on The Stage power list, the second solo female to hold this position in the award's history and becoming the first person to top the list that wasn't a theatre owner.
SFP productions and co-productions received an unprecedented 31 nominations in the 2017 Olivier Awards – including a record-breaking 11 for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' – the most nominated new play in Olivier history. The show went on to win 9 Olivier Awards – the most ever for one production.
In 2018, Friedman was awarded the Equity Services to Theatre Award at the 18th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards, and was featured in Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World.
In 2025, Sonia Friedman and Hugh Jackman launched TOGETHER, a new company dedicated to creating live theatre that is intimate and accessible. Every TOGETHER production is driven by a commitment to offering audiences a chance to experience theatre in a fresh and engaging way. Working alongside director Ian Rickson, TOGETHER has produced Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes and Creditors, which played in repertory at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre in Spring 2025, with Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes being developed further for Audible Theatre. With Ian Rickson returning to direct, the company currently has other projects in development.
TV and film producer
In 2015, Sonia Friedman Productions co-produced two television dramas which aired on BBC Two: Wolf Hall, a six-part mini-series of Dame Hilary Mantel’s historical novel, was broadcast in January, winning two BAFTA Television Awards the following year, and in October, the BAFTA-nominated adaptation of Ronald Harwood’s The Dresser, starring Anthony Hopkins and Ian McKellen.In 2020, Sonia Friedman Productions partnered with Angelica Films to create a re-interpretation of Ian Rickson's stage production of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. The new film version of the production was shown in cinemas ahead of broadcast on the BBC, making it the first UK stage production closed by the Coronavirus pandemic to be seen onscreen. The following year, Sonia Friedman produced a film version of Yasmin Joseph’s play J’Ouvert, also staged at the Harold Pinter Theatre, for BBC Four.
Later in 2021, Sonia Friedman Productions produced Together, written by Dennis Kelly and directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin. The BBC "lockdown drama" starred James McAvoy and Sharon Horgan as a couple forced to confront their fractured relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic. Told directly to camera through monologues and set entirely in their home, it mixed dark humour with emotional honesty. The film won the 2022 BAFTA for Best Single Drama.
Honours
Friedman was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to theatre and Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2023 New Year Honours, also for services to theatre.Personal life
She is the younger sister of director/actress/singer Maria Friedman, violinist Richard Friedman, and Dr Sarah Beecham.Theatre credits
Accidental Death of an Anarchist Tartuffe The [Queen and I (novel)|The Queen and I] The Libertine Shopping and Fucking Blue Kettle / Heart's Desire The Steward of Christendom Three Sisters Spoonface Steinberg Speed the Plow Noises Off A Day in the Death of Joe Egg Benefactors Up For Grabs Afterplay What the Night Is For Macbeth Ragtime A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, on BroadwaySexual Perversity in Chicago Absolutely! Hitchcock Blonde See You Next Tuesday Jumpers Calico Endgame Guantánamo The Woman in White By the Bog of Cats Whose Life Is It Anyway? The Home Place As You Like It Shoot the Crow Celebration Otherwise Engaged The Woman in White on BroadwayDonkeys' Years On the Third Day Eh Joe Bent Faith Healer, on Broadway; nominated for a Best Revival Tony AwardLove Song Rock 'n' Roll King of Hearts The Dumb Waiter Boeing-Boeing Celebration (play)|In Celebration] Rock 'n' Roll, on BroadwayIs He Dead?, on BroadwayDonkeys' Years Hergé's Adventures of Tintin, a musical version of Tintin in Tibet Dealer's Choice Boeing-Boeing, in AustraliaBoeing-Boeing, on BroadwayThat Face Under the Blue Sky The Seagull, on BroadwayNo Man's Land La Cage Aux Folles Maria Friedman: Re-Arranged Boeing-Boeing, UK tourDancing at Lughnasa A View from the Bridge A Little Night Music The Norman Conquests, on BroadwayThe Mountaintop Arcadia Othello Prick Up Your Ears After Miss Julie, on BroadwayLegally Blonde A Little Night Music, on Broadway Jerusalem Private Lives The Prisoner of Second Avenue All My Sons A View from the Bridge, on BroadwayShirley Valentine and Educating Rita La Bête, and on BroadwayA Flea in Her Ear La Cage aux Folles on BroadwayThe Children's Hour Clybourne Park Arcadia, on BroadwayJerusalem, on BroadwayThe Book of Mormon, on BroadwayMuch Ado About Nothing Betrayal Top Girls La Cage Aux Folles, US tour The Mountaintop, on BroadwayJerusalem Master Class Absent Friends Hay Fever Death of a Salesman, on BroadwayNice Work If [You Can Get It (musical)|Nice Work If You Can Get It], on BroadwayThe Sunshine Boys A Chorus of Disapproval Richard the Third Twelfth Night Old Times The Book of Mormon Merrily We Roll Along Chimerica The Sunshine Boys, Los AngelesTwelfth Night & Richard III, on BroadwayMojo Ghosts 1984 Shakespeare in Love King Charles III Electra, Frank McGuinness translation Sunny Afternoon The River, on BroadwayThe Nether Ghosts, New YorkBend It Like Beckham 1984 Hamlet Farinelli and the King King Charles III, on BroadwayA Christmas Carol Funny Girl 1984 Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Sunny Afternoon UK Tour Nice Fish Dreamgirls The Glass Menagerie Travesties Funny Girl UK Tour Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The Ferryman, at Royal Court TheatreOur Ladies of Perpetual Succour The Ferryman, at Gielgud TheatreHamlet, at Harold Pinter Theatre1984, New YorkInk, at Duke of York's TheatreFarinelli and the King, in New YorkThe Birthday Party, at Harold Pinter TheatreMean Girls, in New YorkTravesties, in New YorkHarry Potter and the Cursed Child in New YorkHarry Potter and the Cursed Child in Melbourne The Ferryman, at Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New YorkThe Jungle, at Playhouse TheatreConsent, at the Harold Pinter Theatre The Inheritance, at the Noel CowardSummer and Smoke, at Duke of York's Theatre- [The Jungle (play)|The Jungle], at St. Ann's Warehouse, New YorkAll About Eve, at the Noel CowardFiddler on the Roof, at The Playhouse TheatreRosmersholm, at Duke of York's TheatreThe Jungle, at San Francisco's CurranHarry Potter and the Cursed Child in San FranciscoThe Book of Mormon, UK & European tourThe Inheritance, at Ethel Barrymore Theater, New YorkHarry Potter and the Cursed Child in HamburgUncle Vanya, at Harold Pinter TheatreLeopoldstadt, at Harold Pinter TheatreDreamgirls UK Tour from 2021The Comeback, at Noël Coward TheatreWalden, RE:EMERGE Season at Harold Pinter TheatreJ'Ouvert, RE:EMERGE Season at Harold Pinter TheatreAnna X, RE:EMERGE Season at Harold Pinter TheatreThe Shark Is Broken, at The Ambassadors TheatreTo Kill a Mockingbird, at Gielgud TheatreJerusalem, at Apollo TheatreHarry Potter and the Cursed Child, in TorontoHarry Potter and the Cursed Child, in Tokyo, JapanOklahoma!, at the Young Vic Theatre The 47th, at The Old Vic Mean Girls, US TourJerusalem, at the Apollo Theatre Funny Girl, on Broadway Merrily We Roll Along, at The New York Theatre WorkshopHamlet, at Park Avenue Armory Oresteia, at Park Avenue Armory Eureka Day, at The Old VicThe Piano Lesson, at St James Theatre Leopoldstadt, at Longacre TheatreFunny Girl US tour Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!, at Wyndham's Theatre Patriots, at Noël Coward TheatreNew [York, New York (musical)|New York, New York], at St James TheatreThe [Secret Life of Bees (musical)|The Secret Life of Bees], at the AlmeidaDr Semmelweis, at Harold Pinter TheatreMerrily We Roll Along, at Hudson TheatreThe Shark Is Broken, at John Golden TheatreLyonesse at Harold Pinter TheatreStranger Things: The First Shadow, a co-production with Netflix, at Phoenix TheatreThe Hills of California, at Harold Pinter TheatreMean Girls, at Savoy TheatrePatriots, at Ethel Barrymore Theatre, BroadwayStereophonic, at John Golden TheatreHere There Are Blueberries, at New York Theatre WorkshopFangirls, at Lyric Hammersmith Shifters, at Duke of York's TheatreThe Hills of California, at Broadhurst TheatreOedipus, at Wyndham's TheatreJuno and the Paycock, at Gielgud TheatreBust, at Alliance Theatre and Goodman TheatreMillions, at Alliance TheatreThe Years, at Harold Pinter TheatreThe Shark is Broken, UK and Ireland tourManhunt, at Royal CourtStranger Things: The First Shadow, at Marquis TheatreSexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, at Audible's Minetta Lane TheatreCreditors, at Audible's Minetta Lane TheatreMrs. Warren's Profession, at Garrick TheatreStereophonic, at Duke of York's TheatreDead Outlaw, at Longacre TheatreSunny Afternoon, UK tourThe Importance of Being Earnest, at Noël Coward TheatreStereophonic, US tourOedipus, BroadwayPaddington The Musical, at Savoy TheatreJohn Proctor is the Villain, at Royal Court1536, at Ambassadors TheatreMean Girls, UK & Ireland tourDreamgirls, Broadway
TV and film credits
Wolf Hall The Dresser King Lear Uncle Vanya J'Ouvert Together Merrily We Roll AlongAwards
Olivier Awards
Oedipus, Best Revival, 2025Stranger Things: The First Shadow, Best New Entertainment/Comedy Play, 2024Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!, Best Musical Revival, 2023Leopoldstadt, Best New Play, 2020Fiddler on the Roof, Best Musical Revival, 2020The Inheritance, Best New Play, 2019Summer and Smoke, Best Revival, 2019The Ferryman, Best New Play, 2018Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Best New Play, 2017Sunny Afternoon, Best New Musical, 2015King Charles III, Best New Play, 2015The Book of Mormon, Best New Musical, 2014Chimerica, Best New Play, 2014Ghosts, Best Revival, 2014Merrily We Roll Along, Best Musical Revival, 2014Legally Blonde, Best New Musical, 2011The Mountaintop, Best New Play, 2010La Cage Aux Folles, Best Musical Revival, 2009Tony Awards
Eureka Day, Best Revival of a Play, 2025Merrily We Roll Along, Best Revival of a Musical, 2024Stereophonic, Best Play, 2024Leopoldstadt, Best Play, 2023The Inheritance, Best Play, 2020–21The Ferryman, Best Play, 2019Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Best Play, 2018A View from the Bridge, Best Revival of a Play, 2016The Humans, Best Play, 2016 A Raisin in the Sun, Best Revival of a Play, 2014 Death of a Salesman, Best Revival of a Play, 2012The Book Of Mormon, Best Musical, 2011La Cage Aux Folles, Best Revival of a Musical, 2010The Norman Conquests, Best Revival of a Play, 2009Boeing-Boeing, Best Revival of a Play, 2008Bafta Television Awards
- Drama Series, Together, 2022
- Drama Series, Wolf Hall, 2016
The Stage Awards
- Producer of the year, Sonia Friedman, 2019
- Producer of the year, Sonia Friedman, 2017
- Producer of the year, Sonia Friedman, 2016
- Producer of the year, Sonia Friedman, 2015
Evening Standard Awards
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!, Best Musical, 2022The Inheritance, Best Play, 2018The Ferryman, Best Play, 2017Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Best Play, 2016Jerusalem, Best Play, 2009Home Place, Brian Friel, Best Play, 2005Drama Desk Awards
Eureka Day, Outstanding Revival of a Play, 2025Stereophonic, Outstanding Play, 2024The Piano Lesson, Outstanding Revival of a Play, 2023Leopoldstadt, Outstanding Play, 2023The Inheritance, Outstanding Play, 2020The Ferryman, Outstanding Play, 2019Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Outstanding New Broadway Play, 2018Death of a Salesman, Outstanding Revival of a Play, 2012The Book of Mormon, Outstanding Musical, 2011La Cage aux Folles, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, 2010A View From the Bridge, Outstanding Revival of a Play, 2010The Norman Conquests, Outstanding Revival of a Play, 2009Boeing-Boeing, Outstanding Revival of a Play, 2008Critics' Circle Awards
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!, Best Musical, 2023Patriots, Best New Play, 2023The Inheritance, Best New Play, 2018The Ferryman, Best New Play, 2017Bend It Like Beckham, Best Musical, 2015King Charles III, Best New Play, 2014Chimerica, Best New Play, 2013Merrily We Roll Along, Best Musical, 2012Clybourne Park, Best New Play, 2011Jerusalem, Best New Play, 2010La Cage Aux Folles, Best Musical, 2009WhatsOnStage Awards
Stranger Things: The First Shadow, Best New Play, 2024Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!, Best Musical Revival, 2023The Inheritance, Best New Play, 2019- Sonia Friedman, Equity Services to Theatre Award, 2018Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Best West End Show, 2018The Ferryman, Best New Play, 2018Hamlet, Best Play Revival, 2018Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Best New Play, 2017Funny Girl, Best Musical Revival, 2017Hamlet, Best Play Revival, 2016Shakespeare in Love, Best New Play, 2015The Book of Mormon, Best New Musical, 2014Twelfth Night, Best Shakespearean Production, 2013Much Ado About Nothing, David Tennant and Catherine Tate reuniting on stage, Theatre Event of the Year, 2012Much Ado About Nothing, Best Shakespearean Production, 2012Legally Blonde, by Nell Benjamin, Lawrence O’Keefe & Heather Hach, Best New Musical, 2011Jerusalem, by Jez Butterworth, Best New Play, 2010Under The Blue Sky, by David Eldridge, Best New Play, 2009Rock ‘n’ Roll, by Tom Stoppard, Best New Play, 2007Up For Grabs, Madonna's West End debut, Theatre Event of the Year, 2003A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, Best Play Revival, 2002