King's Head Theatre Appoints Sofi Berenger As Executive Producer and CEO

Chair Robert Khan and the board of the King's Head Theatre in Islington have announced the appointment of Sofi Berenger to the position of Executive Producer and CEO, effective immediately.

Sofi Berenger joined the King's Head team in 2022 and during that time has held various positions in the organisation. She has been the Executive Producer and Acting CEO since June 2022, so this marks a permanent appointment as Chief Executive. Sofi has been instrumental in steering the theatre through the transition from the original pub theatre on Upper Street to the new purpose build space in Islington Square, which opened its doors in January 2024.

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.

When Mark Ravenhill and Hannah Price stepped down as Co-Artistic Directors in June 2022, 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.”

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ABOUT KING'S HEAD THEATRE

King's Head Theatre is a purpose-built, wheelchair accessible theatre with a 200-seat flexible auditorium and 50-seat cabaret space off Upper St, Islington which showcases a wide range of performance styles from plays to musicals, to opera and cabaret, to drag and comedy.

Established in 1970, King's Head Theatre was the oldest pub theatre in the UK until it closed its doors in August 2023. For 53 years the theatre was housed in the back room of the King's Head Pub on Upper Street in an old boxing ring and pool hall, before opening the new space in Islington Square right behind the pub theatre in January 2024.

Under Artistic Director & Founder Dan Crawford, whose tenure lasted 35 years until his death in 2005, the theatre became known as a breeding ground for new talent and great work. Renowned actors like Maureen Lipman, Hugh Grant, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Alan Rickman & Richard E Grant all performed at the theatre, and a number of productions transferred to the West End and Broadway, premiering work from writers such as Steven Berkoff, Tom Stoppard, Bryony Lavery and Victoria Wood. 

In 2010, the Olivier Award-winning company Opera UpClose Productions became the theatre's resident company for four years, and with Adam Spreadbury-Maher as Artistic Director, turned the King's Head into “London's Little Opera House”, winning an Olivier Award for La Boheme in the Best New Opera category. More recently, the theatre has developed a commitment to emerging, daring and innovative work, such as Trainspotting, the Edinburgh Fringe and touring immersive hit which was developed by King's Head Theatre.

The theatre showcases a lot of LGBTQ+ work which explores the full spectrum of experiences symbolised by the rainbow flag. It is a home for a new wave of theatre makers, with a focus on work which is joyful, irreverent, colourful & queer.

In the first year of the new King's Head, the theatre has showcased work from artists such as Rob Madge, Luke Bayer, Olivier award-winner Shaun McKenna, triple Fringe First winners Xhloe & Natasha, Heartstopper's Cormac Hyde-Corrin, Neil Ashton and writer Jonathan Maitland. As it enters its second year, the theatre is working with artists such as Lauren Ward, Josie Benson, Vikki Stone, Rosie Day, and former artistic director Hannah Price, who makes her debut on the new stage. 

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