Theatrical Licensing Agency Launches Backed by Simon Friend Entertainment

New theatrical licensing agency Theatre Global has opened its doors today, fully financed by leading UK production company Simon Friend Entertainment, and led by a former Concord Theatricals Vice President Steven Greenhalgh alongside founders of the company Simon Friend and Hanna Osmolska.

The new company represents a variety of professional and amateur rights in titles including Lolita Chakrabarti’s Olivier Award-winning adaptation of Life of Pi; Deborah Moggach’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, recently produced on a sell-out, year-long UK tour; the Drop the Dead Donkey play by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin based on their BAFTA-winning TV series, and forthcoming new play A Role to Die For by Jordan Waller, which premieres in January. Additional titles in the Theatre Global catalogue will be announced shortly.

Steven Greenhalgh says: “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to create and lead Theatre Global – an ambitious new venture that seeks to deliver a focussed, bespoke and strategic approach to worldwide theatrical licensing with direct access to the originating authors, producer and creative teams of terrific works.  I am very grateful to Simon and Hanna for entrusting me with Theatre Global and I am excited to drive the company’s growth”.

Simon Friend and Hanna Osmolska continue: “Over the past ten years SFE has been entrusted with the stage rights in many internationally recognisable novels and films, as well as original plays, and brought together hundreds of artists to give these stories life on stage. We are excited for Steven, with his expertise in secondary licensing, to lead Theatre Global in maximising these projects’ reach in all spheres of theatre and across the world. SFE has many projects in development, both original plays and adaptations of well-known IP, with some of the industry’s most sought-after writers as well as emerging artists, which we are excited to include in the Theatre Global catalogue in due course, alongside other acquisitions not produced by SFE.”

Lolita Chakrabarti commented: “I am so thrilled that my stage adaptation of Life of Pi is one of the titles represented by Theatre Global for licensing across the world. To be under the umbrella of this exciting new company, that developed this project from its inception, gives it a unique perspective on the origins and possibilities of the play. I am very excited to see Pi travel further.”

Steven Greenhalgh was the Vice President of Acquisitions and Artistic Development for Concord Theatricals (Europe). Prior to this he was the UK Rights Director for Samuel French Limited. Steven has also worked as an agent representing theatrical creatives all over the world. He has been an Olivier panellist and is a proud Trustee of Mercury Musical Developments.

This comes at a busy period for SFE, ahead of launching a year-long US tour of Life of Pi this month and the play’s Indian premiere in Mumbai. The next month will also see the start of the second extensive UK tour of The Girl on the Train, the London premiere of new Dolly Parton musical Here You Come Again which has been selling out across the UK this year, the world premieres of new plays Second Best starring Asa Butterfield and A Role to Die For starring Janie Dee. The company is also readying for the West End premiere of Paranormal Activity following its world premiere in Leeds earlier this year. Each of these projects have been original SFE commissions, and additionally the company is about to launch an extensive tour of Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson’s Ghost Stories.