ATG Entertainment: a new chapter in global live performance

Edgington says: “When we developed the new name and look, we felt it was important to retain ‘ATG’ as part of our name to acknowledge our 30-year-plus heritage as a leader in the industry.”

ATG Entertainment presents many of the world’s greatest shows in its UK venues, ranging from The Lion King, Wicked and Moulin Rouge! The Musical to Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Its in-house production companies have created some of the most exciting work of recent years, from the award-winning Cabaret to Ian McKellen in Robert Icke’s Player Kings, based on Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2.

“That’s what we mean by ‘passion behind performance,’” says Edgington. “ATG Entertainment may not be the first thing you think of when you see these shows, but it requires so many different skills from so many passionate people to create them and put them on stage, and that is abundantly evident when you see the end results.”

“I specifically want to acknowledge that this passion also goes into the local communities that our venues serve, and ATG Entertainment’s Creative Learning team continues to build momentum in producing an award-winning arts education programme that is locally rooted. Our dedicated Creative Learning departments deliver more than 2,500 events and activities annually in the UK alone, from schools’ partnership programmes, behind-the-curtain experiences with visiting productions to developing the next generation of talent through youth academies and large-scale performance projects. They also collaborate on nationally significant initiatives including the Arts Council England-funded nationwide careers initiative Work in Theatre, in partnership with Get into Theatre, reaching more than 30,000 targeted young people, as well as teachers and artists across the UK. These extraordinary initiatives epitomise the passion that our people demonstrate in all that they do, and it is truly inspiring.”

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The company’s ever-growing portfolio currently consists of 64 venues, covering historic theatres, cinemas, conference spaces and live music arenas, and includes some of the most iconic spaces in the UK, the US and Germany.

And it’s more than just a landlord at these venues. Significant investment is made into each one, ensuring its long-term future. That means better seating, air conditioning, bars and lounges and – of course – more toilets.

When the historic Colonial Theatre in Boston closed in 2015, ATG Entertainment came to its rescue, restoring the century-old building to its former glory. It reopened in 2018 with the spectacular Moulin Rouge! the Musical, a production that is now dazzling audiences in New York, London and Cologne.

In Stockton-on-Tees, the Globe Theatre was shut in 1997. Now, under the ownership of ATG Entertainment and following a multimillion-pound refurbishment, the Globe is a leading hub of live entertainment in the North East of England, hosting the biggest acts and best shows from around the world.

Meanwhile, in London’s West End, the Playhouse Theatre has been completely transformed to become the Kit Kat Club, the exclusive Weimar dive where Rebecca Frecknall’s seven-time Olivier-winning production of Cabaret is playing.

Over on Broadway, US audiences are getting their first taste of that production at the August Wilson Theatre, with Eddie Redmayne reprising his role as the Emcee, while later this year, Nicole Scherzinger takes her critically acclaimed performance as Norma Desmond to the St James Theatre when Jamie Lloyd’s reinvention of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Sunset Boulevard opens.

Beyond its venues and productions, ATG Entertainment also owns a leading ticketing platform that processes a staggering 18 million tickets each year for musicals, plays, concerts, comedy shows and a variety of other live events.

It has been an exciting few years for ATG Entertainment. Its recent acquisition of Mehr-BB Entertainment group in Germany and the integration of Jujamcyn Theatres in the US has made it a global force in live entertainment.

“We are incredibly proud of our strong foundations and shared heritage,” says Stimpson. “The shows created for our producers and theatregoers by the Jujamcyn team on Broadway, and the unforgettable entertainment brought by Mehr-BB to our European audiences, have been transformational. Now it’s time to bring everyone together under one name and purpose. As one company, we will be better positioned to engage our 11,500 employees and support our producers and promoters as they put on incredible productions that excite, move and touch our audiences.”

As ATG Entertainment moves into its next chapter, with so many incredible shows already delighting audiences, and many more in the works, one thing is clear: the name may have changed, but the objective of providing memorable experiences hasn’t.