Sonia Friedman
| Sonia Friedman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Sonia Anne Primrose Freedman April 1965 (age 51–52) |
| Occupation | Theatre producer |
| Years active | 1988–present |
Sonia Anne Primrose Friedman OBE (née Freedman; born April 1965) is a British West End and Broadway theatre producer. She is the younger sister of director/actress/singer Maria Friedman, violinist Richard Friedman and Dr Sarah Beecham. Her younger brother, Ben, is a television director (currently director / producer of BRITISH BAKE OFF). On 27 January 2017 Sonia Friedman, was named Producer of the Year for the third year running at The Stage Awards, becoming the first person to win the award three times.
Friedman is the youngest daughter of Clair Llewelyn Friedman (née Sims), a concert pianist, and the eminent Russian violinist Leonard Friedman, who was leader for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Thomas Beecham and co-founder of many national institutions including the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Scottish Baroque Ensemble. Her father is from a Russian Jewish immigrant family and her mother is English.
Friedman was educated at several schools including St Christopher School, Letchworth, Hertfordshire, and trained as a stage manager at the Central School of Speech and Drama. It was after organising a couple of benefits for World Aids Day during the late 1980s (one of which saw over 200 celebrities working as shop assistants in Covent Garden) that she decided to follow a career as a theatre producer.
After working at the National Theatre between 1988 and 1993 (fulfilling the various roles of Stage Management, Education Manager, Head of Education and Producer of Mobile Productions and Theatre for Young People), she co-founded the new writing theatre company Out of Joint in 1993 with Max Stafford-Clark. From 1998, Friedman worked as a producer for the Ambassador Theatre Group. She launched her own theatre company, Sonia Friedman Productions, in 2002. Friedman's productions have been nominated for and won numerous Olivier, Tony and other awards. At the 2014 Olivier Awards, Sonia Friedman Productions made Olivier Awards history by winning the most awards for any producer and for winning prizes for Best New Play (Chimerica), Best New Musical (The Book of Mormon), Best Play Revival (Ghosts) and Best Musical Revival (Merrily We Roll Along).
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