First project to be a US production of Liz Kingsman’s One Woman Show
Another Screen and Stage cross-over has been announced.
UK-based theatre owner and producer Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) has announced a three year partnership with Bad Robot Live – the new theatre division of J.J. Abrams’s Bad Robot Productions.
As creative collaborators and co-producers, ATG will help bring J.J. Abrams’s “unique producorial vision” to the stage, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
The first joint project will be Liz Kingsman’s critically acclaimed solo show, One Woman Show, which was a hit in Edinburgh, and played seasons at the Soho Theatre and at the Ambassadors Theatre in London. The show was also nominated for a 2023 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play, and scored fantastic, five-star reviews in London.
Bad Robot Live is bringing the show to the US in 2023, in partnership with ATG.
ATG also announced last month that they are merging with big Broadway theatre producer and owner Jujamcyn Theaters, and so picking up five of Broadway’s most prestigious theatres to add to the two they already own, plus 56 other venues ATG own or operate in the UK and US.
Led by former Manhattan Theatre Club exec Elizabeth Rothman, Bad Robot Live has been developing a slate of new plays, musicals, and immersive events for the stage – both Broadway and the West End.
ATG Group CEO Mark Cornell said: “We have long sought to partner with the most innovative and imaginative forces to help create new content for the stage, and Bad Robot Live, under J.J. Abrams’s visionary leadership, is a perfect match for our producing arm. Our goal is to collaborate with and empower their incredible team to support what they do so incredibly well: captivate global audiences.”
J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot’s Co-CEO said: “We couldn’t feel luckier to be partnering with ATG. Their accomplishments, accolades, and stats speak for themselves, but what makes us most excited are the people. The chance to work alongside Mark Cornell, Kristin Caskey, Adam Speers and their talented team on creating riveting live entertainment is both humbling and genuinely thrilling.”
Bad Robot’s projects have included Lost, Westworld, Super 8, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker.
This news comes on the back of a number of alliances being forged between screen and stage partners, the latest being Netflix and Sonia Friedman uniting on new stage project Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which is coming to London’s Phoenix Theatre in late 2023 directed by Stephen Daldry.
We revealed last week that ATG’s parent company International Entertainment Holdings Limited (IEH), is in a dispute with insurer Allianz about a multi-million pound Covid-19 Business Interruption (BI) claim.
