The Stage 100 2023: producers (commercial)
The Stage 100 is intended to reflect the 100 most influential people working in theatre and the performing arts. It is considered from the point of view of The Stage, as a trade publication, and so focuses both on theatre as a business and an art form. Inclusion within the list and ranking is weighted towards impact over the past 12 months. We also aim to have a list that – as much as is possible and plausible – reflects the astonishing breadth of the theatre industry. However, the list also seeks to reflect how the theatre and performing arts industry is, not what it aims to be, or we would like it to be.
The Stage 100 2023: 1 | 2 | 3-8 | 9-14 | 15-20 | London theatres | Regional theatres | Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | Opera and dance | Producers (commercial) | Producers (not-for-profit) | Actors | Independent creatives | Advocacy | Rising stars
Tristan Baker and Charlie Parsons, Runaway Entertainment
Horror is hard to pull off in theatre, but in 2.22 – A Ghost Story, this duo succeeded in bringing an effective spine-tingler to the stage. The winning formula of fast changing casts, featuring high-profile, often non-theatre based stars, pulled in audiences (this year, Girls Aloud’s Cheryl takes on a lead). Runaway is also producer and general manager of the tour of Girl from the North Country, and produced the UK premiere of Disney’s Newsies, at Troubadour Wembley Park, which is run by Baker with his other business partner, Oliver Royds.
Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood, Underbelly
Underbelly directors Bartlam and Wood oversaw a busy 2022. The company was a producer on Cabaret in the West End, and it brought the much-loved La Clique back to London. The pair also presented winter festivals across London and at Newbury Racecourse, while its Underbelly Festival brought summer entertainment to two London locations and to Edinburgh Fringe, where it ran across 19 venues and four sites with a programme of 146 shows. An exciting and distinctive staple of the theatre landscape, in Edinburgh and beyond.
Matthew Byam Shaw, Nia Janis and Nick Salmon, Playful Productions
Playful’s 2022 included its general management of many of the West End’s biggest shows, including Wicked, Come From Away, Get Up, Stand Up! and Moulin Rouge!. It also had producer credits on Good, starring David Tennant, and Gabriel Byrne’s Walking with Ghosts, and was an associate producer of the Michael Jackson musical on Broadway. This year, it will produce and general manage Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on tour, and bring The Unfriend, starring Amanda Abbington and Mark Gatiss, to London.
Caro Newling and Sam Mendes, Neal Street Productions
At the 2022 Tony Awards, Neal Street scooped five gongs for its much-lauded production of The Lehman Trilogy, which returns for a West End run this year. Last year, the pair also brought Hollywood royalty to London, with Gabriel Byrne performing his memoir, Walking with Ghosts. The company also revived and ‘reinvented’ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in Leeds, and brought 2019’s Local Hero to Chichester. This year, the company is working with the Royal Shakespeare Company to develop a stage adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s beloved book Hamnet.
Kenny Wax, Kenny Wax Productions
Opening new musicals is never easy, but in 2022 Wax did just that, with musical Identical (with music and lyrics by Stiles and Drewe) at Nottingham Playhouse. Wax also continued his partnership with comedy troupe Mischief, which saw Mind Mangler tour and The Play that Goes Wrong continue to go wrong every night in London. Wax produced two great new shows for younger audiences: Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World and Hey Duggee Live on Stage. Six, meanwhile, continued to slay on tour, in the West End and on Broadway, and even played at Hampton Court in June.
Andy and Wendy Barnes, Global Musicals/Perfect Pitch
Last year, the Barnes duo made the decision not to reapply to have Perfect Pitch be part of Arts Council England’s national portfolio. However, they will continue to develop new musicals – such as the marvellous 42 Balloons, which enjoyed a short run of concert productions in the West End. This year, the company will work with Stage One to support producers. Through Global, their commercial arm, the juggernaut-hit Six continues its ever-popular run in London and around the world, while at the Arts Theatre it has the irresistibly catchy Choir of Man.
James Bierman, Empire Street
Led by Donmar Warehouse alumnus Bierman, Empire Street Productions brought us Jodie Comer’s West End debut in 2022, with Suzie Miller’s Prima Facie. In cinemas, the NT Live screening became one of the highest-grossing UK theatre shows of all time, and Comer won Best West End Debut at The Stage Debut Awards. The company partnered with charity the Schools Consent Project, giving away free tickets to 10 school groups so they could bring students to the show and access further support. This year, Bierman and his team bring Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman to the West End, starring Steve Pemberton.
Benjamin Lowy and Emily Vaughan-Barratt, Wessex Grove
2020 wasn’t perhaps the best time to launch a new production company, but it hasn’t held back Lowy and Vaughan-Barratt. Wessex Grove has since established itself among top-tier producers with an impressive and varied portfolio of shows. Highlights included One Woman Show, Best of Enemies, The Doctor and Mad House. Future shows include Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life, directed by Ivo van Hove, and Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, while its development deal with the Donmar Warehouse looks set to be a productive partnership.
Adam Spiegel, Adam Spiegel Productions
Then theatres were given the green light to reopen in May 2021, The Mousetrap was the first off the mark, with producer Spiegel taking to the stage to welcome audiences back. He returned again at St Martin’s Theatre last November to welcome theatregoers to a special performance marking 70 years of Agatha Christie’s play in the West End. Meanwhile, a 70th-anniversary tour got under way, and Spiegel (with co-producer Kevin McCollum) announced bold plans to take the West End’s longest-running show to Broadway.
Jamie Wilson, Jamie Wilson Productions
2022 was the year Wilson finally brought Sister Act to the stage after Covid scuppered plans for a 2020 production starring Whoopi Goldberg. But crowds still flocked to see Beverley Knight and Jennifer Saunders at the Eventim Apollo and the 80-week tour that followed. His company brought Mrs Doubtfire to Manchester; it will come to London this year, when Wilson kicks off a 10-year partnership as principal producer of the Shaftesbury Theatre. A prolific and crowd pleasing producer, Wilson’s 2023 looks set to be just as busy and impressive.
Opinion
Recommended for you
Opinion
Recommended for you
Most Read
Across The Stage this weekYour subscription helps ensure our journalism can continue
Invest in The Stage today with a subscription starting at just £7.99
© Copyright The Stage Media Company Limited 2025
