Sonia Friedman talks The Lives of Others, Tom Stoppard’s legacy and how Broadway success proves Britain’s soft power

If there is one thing we’ve learned over the last month, it is that multi-award-winning Sonia Friedman likes the number seven. Fresh off the back of a bumper crop of Tony Award nominations for the Broadway transfer of Oedipus, Friedman is feeling, quite literally, lucky. “Seven is my lucky number,” she tells us, sounding remarkably serene for someone currently producing a deluge of work in the West End, on Broadway, off-Broadway and on tour.

“We won seven for Paddington at the Oliviers, so it’s a good number.” But while the Tony Awards buzz rumbles on, Friedman’s mind is also moving towards the “Heathrow queuing system” of projects waiting to land on London’s stages.

Perhaps the most anticipated arrival is the stage adaptation of the Oscar-winning film The Lives of Others, set to welcome back Keira Knightley to the West End stage. While it might feel like a recent announcement, Friedman reveals the project has been “brewing” for a staggering 15 years. The origin story is pure theatrical lore: the film’s director, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, originally approached the late, great Tom Stoppard to adapt the script.

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Stoppard, ever the master of his own craft, told him: “I’m not interested in doing that because it’s not my form, but I’d love you to talk to Sonia – she should produce it.” It took over a decade for Friedman to find the right creative alchemy to satisfy Florian, eventually clicking with Icke. And for those wondering about the choice of the Adelphi Theatre – a house usually reserved for massive musical spectacles – Friedman is clear: this is a play that demands a “large canvas. I’ve never produced a play in such a large theatre other than Harry Potter… but I’m at that place in my career where I’m excited by new challenges. I take this one on because I bloody love this version.”

The conversation inevitably turns to Stoppard himself. Having produced the 2023 Tony winner in the form of Stoppard’s last play Leopoldstadt, Friedman is doubling down on her commitment to the man she remembers as one of her closest friends. She’s currently deep-diving into a literal archive of the man by listening to verbatim interviews and recordings from his days as a Bristol journalist. “I really hope next generations understand this man as a writer, a thinker, and a moral human,” she says.

Beyond the upcoming West End transfer of the Old Vic revival of Arcadia, Friedman is looking at the “treasure trove” of Stoppard’s less-explored TV and radio plays, making it clear that she intends to keep his work on our stages for the long haul. In fact, she’s so dedicated to his oeuvre that she plans to continue producing his work “until I join him, wherever he is.”

From the “toxic masculinity” explored in Ava Pickett’s 1536 to the 30th-anniversary buzz surrounding the co-production of Rent we should know more about very soon, the SFP pipeline is currently a testament to the sheer breadth of British theatre. Friedman is particularly buzzing about the transfer of Pickett’s debut work, which she describes as “absolutely mind-blowing.”

The play, currently in West End previews, takes the grim historical reality of Anne Boleyn’s execution and uses it as a lens to examine the “manosphere” and the patriarchal toxicity of Henry VIII’s England. Friedman is struck by how the play looks beyond the GCSE history books; while we all know the stories of the six wives, 1536 explores how the King’s brutal treatment of his wife gave “permission” for women to be treated that way across the entire land. Watching the performances “ripen” during the transfer has been a highlight for the producer, who admits to sitting in the stalls in “absolute bliss” at the discovery of such a sharp new voice.

Friedman sees this trans-Atlantic success as more than just a box-office win; it is a vital exercise in British “soft power.” As our productions continue to dominate the global stage, she insists it is essential to celebrate “the Brits on Broadway” and the cultural influence they wield. To Friedman, theatre is one of the country’s most potent exports, and she remains committed to advocating for that impact on every front.

Sonia Friedman’s current slate shows confirmed as playing in London in 2026:

• Paddington The Musical 
• The Book of Mormon
• Stranger Things: The First Shadow
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• The Cherry Orchard
• Thelma and Louise
• Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• The Lives of Others
• Arcadia
• 1536
• Rent