New Company Second Half Productions Launches

A new entertainment company, Second Half Productions, has been launched today by Jeremy Herrin, Alan Stacey and Rob O'Rahilly. It will bring together world-leading artists to create innovative work for both stage and screen. Its first production will see Amy Adams star in The Glass Menagerie.

The company is made up of Jeremy Herrin and Alan Stacey, who led acclaimed theatre company Headlong together between 2016 - 2020, have produced and directed award-winning shows in the West End, on Broadway and throughout the UK, including the Olivier-Award winning Labour of Love, This House and People, Places and Things. Co-founder Rob O'Rahilly, is a philanthropic supporter of charitable theatre companies and former Head of Asset Management Solutions and International Chief Investment Officer for JP Morgan. They are joined by Creative Associate Lucie Lovatt, former Head of Creative Development at Sonia Friedman Productions and Casting Director Jessica Ronane, also Casting Consultant for the Old Vic. Second Half Productions will look to present work that explores our turbulent past, present and future, engaging and invigorating audiences from across the UK and internationally with extraordinary writing from new and established voices.

Breathing new and unexpected life into classic stories, Second Half Productions' inaugural project is a new production of The Glass Menagerie starring Amy Adams and directed by Jeremy Herrin (announced today). Opening at The Duke of York's Theatre in May 2022, The Glass Menagerie will also star Paul Hilton, Tom Glynn-Carney and newcomers Lizzie Annis and Victor Alli. Future projects currently under commission, which will be announced in due course, will see Second Half Productions work with a broad range of UK writers and directors.

Second Half Productions are committed to prioritising accessibility within the industry for both artists and audiences alike. In early 2022 the company will launch two new initiatives that will contribute to changing the make-up of the West End landscape. The first will look to champion artists who have never before had work presented on a West End stage bringing exciting new voices and overlooked works to audiences in London and beyond. The second will help develop the directors and designers of the future, giving artists who might have previously been marginalised by the industry their first engagement as Associate Artists in the West End. These initiatives are generously supported by Susie Sainsbury.

Jeremy Herrin, Co-Director of Second Half Productions said:

"I know how lucky I am to be able to set up Second Half Productions as a new production company in order to do the work I love with some of the best people in the business. Alan Stacey and Rob O'Rahilly are great spirits with awesome skillsets with whom to be setting out on this adventure, and I'm delighted to build on brilliant working relationships with the casting vision of Jessica Ronane and the creative producing might of Lucie Lovatt. I am also really grateful to the visionary generosity of Susie Sainsbury who is supporting a structured scheme to diversify the pool of creative talent in the West End. We are all thrilled that Amy Adams is joining us on our first venture, and we look forward to further announcements of new plays, timely revivals and exciting musicals in due course."

Jeremy Herrin, is the former Artistic Director of Headlong and Deputy Artistic Director of the Royal Court. He is a Director of Second Half Productions.

This autumn, Jeremy will direct the final instalment in the Wolf Hall Trilogy - The Mirror and The Light, adapted for stage by Hilary Mantel and Ben Miles. Over two decades, Jeremy has directed a string of award winning hits that transferred to the West End and New York, including That Face by Polly Stenham (Royal Court and West End), This House by James Graham (National Theatre and West End), Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies (RSC, West End and Broadway), The Nether by Jennifer Haley (Royal Court and West End), People, Places and Things by Duncan MacMillan (National Theatre, West End and St Ann's Warehouse, New York), Labour of Love by James Graham (West End). Earlier this year Jeremy directed the world premiere of After Life by Jack Thorne (National Theatre and his upcoming shows include Best of Enemies by James Graham (Young Vic) and Almost Famous the Musical (Broadway, autumn 2022).

Alan Stacey is Executive Director of Headlong and formerly both Executive Director and Commercial Director of the Young Vic. He is a Director of Second Half Productions and has produced shows in London, New York and on tour with Jeremy Herrin including This House, People, Places and Things, Labour of Love, After Life and Best of Enemies. As Executive Director of the Young Vic he oversaw the producing of hits such as Ivo van Hove's A View from the Bridge (Young Vic, West End, NT Live and Broadway) and A Streetcar Named Desire (Young Vic, NT Live and St Ann's Warehouse). Alan is lead producer of Second Half Productions.

Rob O'Rahilly, is the former Head of Asset Management Solutions and International Chief Investment Officer for JP Morgan and is a philanthropic supporter of charitable theatre companies, a mentor for start-up businesses and Director of Second Half Productions. He is also founder and director of Monkstown Associates Ltd, a company with significant investments in over 40 productions in the West End and on Broadway. Recent productions include: Death of a Salesman, Cyrano De Bergerac, 9-5, Betrayal, The Lehman Trilogy, Leopoldstadt and Uncle Vanya.

Jessica Ronane, CDG CSA, is Casting Director for Second Half Productions. She is also Vice Chair of the Casting Directors Guild and Casting Consultant for The Old Vic having spent the last 6 years as in-house Casting Director there. Theatre includes: Camp Siegfried. The Dumb Waiter. Faith Healer, Endgame/Rough for Theatre II, A Christmas Carol, Lungs, A Very Expensive Poison, Present Laughter, All My Sons, The American Clock, SYLVIA, A Monster Calls, Mood Music, Fanny & Alexander, Woyzeck, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, King Lear, The Caretaker, The Master Builder, Dr. Seuss's The Lorax, The Hairy Ape, Future Conditional (all for The Old Vic); Girl from the North Country (The Old Vic/West End); The Divide (The Old Vic/ EIF); Film includes: The Kid Who Would Be King, Emma. Upcoming work includes Luca Guadagnino's remake of Brideshead Revisited and Mark Gatiss' The Amazing Mr Blunden for Sky.

Lucie Lovatt is Creative Associate for Second Half Productions. From 2006 until 2020 Lucie worked for Sonia Friedman Productions (SFP) in various positions culminating in her creation of the role of Head of Creative Development. Whilst at SFP she worked on over fifty productions, including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Sunny Afternoon the Musical, Legally Blonde the Musical, All About Eve, The Ferryman, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Jerusalem, Mojo, Shakespeare in Love, A Christmas Carol, Chimerica and Hamlet. Prior to this Lucie worked for both The Royal Court Theatre and Cheek by Jowl.

Becky Barber, is General Manager (Development) for Second Half Productions. She has spent 11 years working at Greene Light Stage (formally Old Vic Productions) during which Becky worked on the worldwide productions of Billy Elliot The Musical and 24 productions at The Old Vic Theatre. Her West End credits include: Emilia, The Go-Between, Good People, The Pajama Game, Private Lives, Passion Play, Sweeney Todd, Clybourne Park, Noises Off, The Prisoner of 2nd Avenue and Jerusalem. As an independent producer Becky developed and produced the premiere of Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong in the West End and Fox at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The inaugural production from Second Half Productions The Glass Menagerie opens at The Duke of York's Theatre from 23 May for a 14 week run. 10,000 tickets are available from £20 and under across the run. Tickets are on general sale from 12pm www.theglassmenageriewestend.com.

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