Sonia Friedman Productions announces major personnel changes

Sonia Friedman Productions has announced a change in its leadership team.

Executive director Diane Benjamin will step down in January 2026 after 25 years with the company, continuing as a consultant. Kash Bennett, currently executive producer of National Theatre Productions and president of the Society of London Theatres, will join as executive director at the end of September 2025.

Benjamin first worked with Sonia Friedman at the National Theatre before joining the newly formed SFP as general manager. She became executive director in 2012, overseeing its expansion into one of the most prolific theatre producers in the West End, on Broadway and internationally. During her tenure, the company has been behind productions including The Book of Mormon, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Jerusalem, and The Nether.

Friedman said of Benjamin: “It’s impossible to sum up what Diane Benjamin has meant to me and to Sonia Friedman Productions over the past 25 years. She is a true one-off – the very best in the business when it comes to overseeing a large, international producing theatre company.

“When she joined, there were just three of us; today, we produce and co-produce ten, 15, sometimes 20 shows a year around the world and our work employ thousands of people annually and is seen by many millions. That transformation is in no small part thanks to Diane’s brilliance, her courage, her unshakable integrity, her loyalty, and her fierce commitment to doing things properly.”

Bennett moves to SFP having overseen more than 40 productions at the National Theatre over the past decade, including The Lehman Trilogy, Dear England, Standing at the Sky’s Edge, and Ocean at the End of the Lane. She has also worked with Stage Entertainment UK on productions such as Memphis, Made in Dagenham and Singin’ in the Rain, and has toured shows including Hairspray and Oliver!.

Founded in 2002, Sonia Friedman Productions has produced over 270 shows worldwide. Its current and long-running titles include Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, The Book of Mormon, Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Stereophonic.

Upcoming projects include Paddington The Musical, which opens in the West End later this year.