Team
Benjamin Lowy
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
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 at the Bernard B Jacobs Theatre in New York; and the Pinter at the Pinter season. Before that she worked at Chichester Festival Theatre and The Print Room.
Emily is a Stage One mentor, a member of the Society of London Theatre, and a member of the League of Independent Producers.
Emily loves her dog, yoga, Beyonce, and average American sitcoms.
Tom Powis
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, and Emilia. Tom is a mental heath first aider, and a crisis volunteer for Shout, the UK’s text service for people in crisis.
Kat Pierce
Kat joined Wessex Grove in 2024 from Sonia Friedman Productions where she worked as Creative Development Producer and was involved in the development of numerous new plays, musicals and large-scale IP adaptations.
Prior to this, Kat worked as a Production Coordinator at SFP and was Production and Development Assistant at Runaway Entertainment.
Kat loves being by the seaside, stand-up comedy (the weirder the better) and old horror films.
Sarah Alford-Smith
Sarah joined Wessex Grove in 2022 after a 25-year career in company and stage management. She worked extensively in the West End, on tours in the UK and internationally, and at many London producing theatres including the Almeida, Royal Court, Donmar, Young Vic, and National Theatre.
Sarah volunteers for GoodGym and is on the board of The Actor’s Benevolent Fund.
Sarah loves second-hand bookshops and swimming in Kenwood Ladies’ Pond all year round.
Hugh Summers
Hugh joined Wessex Grove in 2022 from Sonia Friedman Productions. 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.
Hugh loves opera and supporting his hometown football club, Portsmouth F.C.
Max Hoffman
Max joined Wessex Grove in 2022 after receiving his master’s from Birkbeck & RADA. He is from the US and previously lived in New York, where he studied at NYU and worked at Scott Rudin Productions (and at SoulCycle). Max is thrilled to be part of the action at Wessex Grove.
Max loves Jerry Herman musicals and the Saturday morning farmers market on Hampstead Heath.
Lily Ford
Lily joined Wessex Grove in 2023 having worked for two years in the Film & TV industry. Prior to this Lily went to the University of Manchester, where she studied Drama and English.
Lily loves car boot sales and her weekly boxing classes.