LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — Sony Music Masterworks, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, announced the launch of a new joint venture with live entertainment company Roast Productions.
Based in London, Roast, which was founded by Bonnie Royal and Michael Stevens, focuses on producing theatre, concerts, and family-friendly entertainment.
Under the terms of the joint venture, Royal and Stevens will continue to lead the company’s day-to-day operations and collaborate with Masterworks President Mark Cavell and Ollie Rosenblatt, founder and CEO of Senbla, a UK producer/promoter.
The company will also offer production, general management, and marketing services in the West End and beyond.
Roast’s Recent and current shows include a production of the Shakespeare classic Macbeth, starring Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma and playing in Liverpool, Edinburgh, London, and Washington D.C. and the West End run of Vanya, starring Andrew Scott, among others.
Along with the new joint venture, Roast also announced that it has secured strategic agreements with National Theatre Productions and Various Productions, as co-producer for Standing at the Sky’s Edge at the Gillian Lynne Theatre opening in February, and with the Ambassador Theatre Group, as Creative Producer of the inaugural Wimbledon Children’s Festival at the New Wimbledon Theatre, launching in Summer 2024.
“It is an absolute honor to join Sony Music Masterworks and develop new work and new markets together. The strength of its vision and values makes it the ideal partner for us as we develop a diverse body of work in the UK and internationally,” said Bonnie Royal and Michael Stevens, Producers and Co-Managing Directors of Roast in a joint statement.
“I’m absolutely delighted to welcome Bonnie and Michael to the Sony Music Masterworks family. Their creativity and expertise will further support our endeavors in securing and creating new quality and original live productions that will captivate and entertain audiences across the globe, and provide first-class content for our other partners to promote and market,” added Sony Masterworks President Mark Cavell.