BENJAMIN LOWY – PRODUCER

Benjamin is a Tony Award winning producer who runs Benjamin Lowy Productions in the United States. Under BLP, he produced Betrayal and Seawall/A Life on Broadway in 2019. Previously, Benjamin co-produced 18 shows on Broadway, including Sunday in the Park with George starring Jake Gyllenhall, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Tootsie. On the West End, co-productions include Caroline or Change, the Pinter at the Pinter season, 9 to 5, and Cyrano De Bergerac. 

EMILY VAUGHAN-BARRATT – PRODUCER

Before setting up Wessex Grove in 2020 with Ben, Emily worked at Ambassador Theatre Group for 8 years producing a wide range of shows for them including: The Playhouse season (Cyrano de Bergerac and The Seagull ), Betrayal at the Harold Pinter Theatre and in New York at the Bernard B Jacobs Theatre, and the Pinter at the Pinter season. Other shows for ATG include; Pretty Woman, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, multiple West End transfers including Rob Icke’s Oresteia, Hamlet and The Doctor all from the Almeida Theatre, and King Lear from Chichester Festival Theatre. Before that she worked at Chichester Festival Theatre and The Print Room

Emily is a trustee of Polka Theatre, a mentor for the Bridge The Gap Stage One scheme, a member of the Society of London Theatre, and a member of the League of Independent Producers.

TOM POWIS – GENERAL MANAGER
Tom joined Wessex Grove in 2022 from Eleanor Lloyd Productions where he was General Manager. He worked at ELP for 8 years, working on a variety of productions including the site-specific Witness for the Prosecution, A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story, Constellations, Emilia, Nell Gwynn, My Night with Reg, and Handbagged.

SARAH ALFORD-SMITH – PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Sarah joined Wessex Grove in 2022 having previously worked as a freelance company manager and stage manager. Notable productions as company manager include: Network, directed by Ivo van Hove for the National Theatre; The Vote, live broadcast for More 4 / Donmar Warehouse, directed by Josie Rourke; Hamlet, directed by Robert Icke; and Black Watch, directed by John Tiffany for National Theatre of Scotland.

HUGH SUMMERS – PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Hugh joined Wessex Grove in 2022 from Sonia Friedman Productions, where he was a Production Assistant. He has worked in a variety of theatre production roles across London and in the West End, including producing a series of concerts at the Apollo Theatre as part of Nica Burns’ Rising Stars festival. Hugh is on the board of Chichester Festival Theatre, having previously been a member of the theatre’s inaugural Youth Advisory Board.

JACK STERNE – PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Jack joined Wessex Grove in 2023 having spent the past eight years working at Sonia Friedman Productions and Smart Entertainment. Prior to that, he cut his teeth at Ambassador Theatre Group. Notable productions include: The Book of Mormon (West End/European Tour); Harry Potter & the Cursed Child (Palace); Uncle Vanya (Harold Pinter); Summer & Smoke and Rosmersholm (Duke of Yorks); Grenfell – Value Engineering and Grenfell – System Failure (London Tour & Channel 4); The McOnie Company’s Nutcracker (Southbank Centre); A Christmas Carol (Dominion); Playtime and The Wellspring (Northampton Royal & Derngate).

ELOISE KENNY-RYDER – ADMINISTRATOR
Eloise has been with Wessex Grove since the company launched in May 2020. She is a trained violinist and singer and read music at The University of Oxford. Eloise has a particular interest in interdisciplinary, alternative forms of theatre making, and is currently exploring her ideas in a master’s course at Goldsmiths, University of London in conjunction with her work at Wessex Grove.

MAX HOFFMAN – EXECUTIVE AND PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

Max moved from New York to London in September 2021 to get his master’s at RADA and Birkbeck. Before arriving in London, Max trained as an actor at NYU and worked in production offices on shows like The Music Man and West Side Story, among various other wacky jobs over the years. Recently Max has performed two of his own cabarets: one he conceived in New York as his farewell concert, and the other as his master’s thesis which reappropriated the songs of queer and Jewish composers. Max loves chocolate, walks on the Heath, and is passionate about making a Mame revival happen sooner rather than later.

LILY FORD – OFFICE ASSISTANT

Since graduating from the University of Manchester in 2021, Lily has worked as a Production Runner for various television and film productions. Her passion, however, has always remained in theatre. She pursued her love for the stage through studying Drama and English at university and by taking part in courses at the National Youth Theatre and Arts Ed as well as working at Vault Festival. She is excited for the opportunity to learn and grow within Wessex Grove.