Sofi Berenger appointed as permanent leader of King's Head Theatre
We’re delighted to announce that as of today, Sofi Berenger has been permanently appointed as executive producer and chief executive of the King’s Head Theatre, after three years helping to lead the organisation. She will continue to serve as Executive Producer, and move from acting Chief Executive to the confirmed role. In a statment given to The Stage, she emphasised her commitment to helping the venue produce more of its own work, be at the forefront of sector innovation, and maintain a commitment to meaningfully supporting artists.
Sofi joined the organisation with Mark Ravenhill during his tenure as Artistic Director where she produced a season of work including an original play by Ravenhill written for the venue The Haunting of Susan A, a revival of the company’s Olivier award winning production of La Bohème and Freud’s Last Session which was turned into a feature film starring Anthony Hopkins. She also spearheaded Springboard Festival, which gave companies who lost performance slots after the cancellation of VAULT festival a chance to perform their work.
Sofi took over as Acting CEO and was the lead programmer and producer for the Autumn 2022 season, including Mediocre White Male. In January 2023, she developed and launched The Takeover, which saw the theatre welcome four guest Artistic Directors, drawn from different theatre backgrounds, curating their own individual programmes.
From the opening of the new building in January 2024 to today, Sofi has programmed a bold and diverse programme of work in both the main house and cabaret space, 4Below; launched a dedicated production fund flagship fund and supporter network Angels of Angel to support the theatre in commissioning and producing new work; a new membership scheme, the KHT Club, and the KHT Artists Club which includes free fortnightly workshop series, a script development programme and subsidised theatre tickets; and produced Cinderella, the first family pantomime in the new space.
Sofi said: "I am thrilled to be stepping into this permanent position at the Kings Head Theatre and am looking forward to continuing to work with the board, the team, and our community of artists on building on the incredible legacy of the theatre.
The pub theatre was always a powerhouse for discovering talent, producing West End transfers, and continually presenting exciting, bold work in a space that championed queer voices.
All those values are still core to us as a venue today. We recently produced work with 2024 Olivier winners Will Close and David Cumming (now multi-Tony nominee), guest artistic director and ex-Trainee Resident Director Tania Azevedo is now developing some of the world’s biggest IP into large-scale shows with Stage Entertainment, and our current production The Gang of Three is currently breaking all box office records for the new theatre. So, I’m thrilled to be able to continue this work into the third year of our new building, with a Spring Season shaping up to be something special.”
Robert Khan, Chair of the Board, said, “On behalf of the King’s Head Theatre board I’m delighted to be able to announce Sofi Berenger in this permanent position. Over the last three years, Sofi has led the company through some of its biggest challenges - Covid recovery, the closing of the pub and the opening of our new theatre. We’re excited about the future direction and projects Sofi is already working on with our fantastic team, and what’s to come.”
Sofi continued, “As we settle into our new building, I’m looking forward to strengthening our producing arm, primarily through our Angels of Angel Fund. With this, we’ll be able to once again have a greater focus on producing our own projects alongside fantastic partners, developing new work, and working with regional theatres on the most promising transfers.
As I take on this permanent position, I'm excited to put the King’s Head back at the forefront of innovation in the theatre sector. We will be reimagining programmes such as our Queens Jubilee winning Trainee Resident Director Programme and doing impactful work such as the development of the Equity Fringe Agreement. With traditional funding avenues so volatile and the climate in the arts so challenging, we have a responsibility to reimagine theatre business models and working practices at every level, and to create sustainable ways of making work that maintains a commitment to supporting producers and theatre artists. That has always been at the core of the KHT, and I am excited and grateful to get to continue that work.”