Emmerson & Ward formed in 2018 by Producer Max Emmerson & Writer Rob Ward.
We are a new writing company with a focus on producing new LGBTQ+ work for the UK and international touring.
Since 2018, we have produced: BI-TOPIA by Sam Danson (UK Tour 2024), ROTTEN by Josie White (UK Tour 2024), Love it if we Beat Them by Rob Ward (Live Theatre, Newcastle 2023), The MP, Aunty Mandy & Me by Rob Ward (UK & Ireland Tour 2023 & 2022, co-produced with We Are Survivors in association with Curve), Gypsy Queen by Rob Ward (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, multiple UK tours and international tour) Riot Act by Alexis Gregory (multiple UK Tours) and Sex/Crime by Alexis Gregory (Soho Theatre 2020). We are currently developing Sappho by Daneka Etchells and a new play for Curve which will debut in 2024.
At Emmerson & Ward we strive to achieve the following:
To share LGBTQ stories nationwide, not just within the capital and other national metropolises.
To engage with non-typical theatregoers by removing the pretence of theatre as an upper-middle class pursuit, theatre is for everybody.
To give a voice to the disenfranchised and disillusioned within our society and put their stories on stage, with a focus on LGBTQ+ stories.
We are supported by our partner venues, Arts Council England and in 2021 we joined Curve, Leicester as Resident Creatives.
The Team
Creative Producer - Max Emmerson (He/Him)
Max Emmerson is Creative Producer of Emmerson & Ward. He has previous worked as Producer for Secret Cinema, Producer for Leeds Playhouse, Executive Producer for Box of Tricks Theatre Company, Project Producer for ThickSkin Theatre, Interim Producer for Oldham Coliseum, Freelance Producer for TransCreative, The Letter Room, Knaïve Theatre, Assistant Producer for the Royal Exchange Theatre and Production Co-ordinator for Bill Kenwright Productions in London.
Producing credits include: Wishmas (Secret Cinema), A Passionate Woman by Kay Mellor (Leeds Playhouse), Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck (Leeds Playhouse), Lord of the Flies by William Golding (Leeds Playhouse & UK Tour), Sappho by Daneka Etchells (in development), Nine Night by Natasha Gordon (Leeds Playhouse & Nottingham Playhouse), Walk This Play by ThickSkin Theatre (App Based), Last Quizmas by Alison Carr (Online), The Last Quiz Night on Earth by Alison Carr (UK Tour), Under Three Moons by Daniel Kanaber (UK Tour), Don’t Bother by Broccan Tyzack-Carlin (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Brighton Fringe & Manchester Fringe), No Miracles Here by The Letter Room (UK Tour), SparkPlug by David Judge (UK Tour), The Tempest (Royal Exchange Theatre), The People Are Singing by Lizzie Nunnery (Royal Exchange Theatre), Adam & Eve & Steve by Chandler Warren (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Shout! The Mod Musical (Liverpool Royal Court Theatre).
Creative Director - Rob Ward (He/Him)
Rob Ward is a writer, performer and producer who has penned previously ACE funded plays Away From Home (2013), Gypsy Queen (2016) and The MP, Aunty Mandy & Me (2020) as well as performing in all three shows. Rob received the 2014 Manchester Theatre Awards for Best Fringe Performance and Best New Play for Away From Home and was named as one of the British Council’s Emerging Artists in 2017. Rob’s work has toured across the UK and also at international venues in Auckland, Barrie (Ontario, Canada), Belgrade, Dublin and Frankfurt.
Assistant Producer - Tabitha Rose Hughes (She/Her)
Tabitha Rose Hughes is a graduate of the Management of Music, Entertainment, Theatre and Events degree at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. As well as her role as Assistant Producer for Emmerson & Ward Productions, she is currently Producing & Programming Coordinator for the Octagon Theatre in Bolton. In 2022, she was the recipient of the Anthony Field Producer Prize and the Rising Star of the Year Award from the Queer Student Awards.
Producing credits include: The MP, Aunty Mandy & Me (Emmerson & Ward Productions, Edinburgh Fringe & UK Tour), Love It If We Beat Them (Emmerson & Ward Productions/Live Theatre Newcastle), The Last Quiz Night on Earth (Box of Tricks, UK Tour), The Book Thief (World Premiere), A Christmas Carol, Spring and Port Wine, First Bites Readings (Octagon Theatre), Brief Encounter, The Blonde Bombshells of 1943 (Co-productions between Octagon Theatre, Stephen Joseph Theatre & Theatre By The Lake), Ladies Day (Co-production between Octagon Theatre & New Vic), The Book of Will (European premiere, co-production between Octagon Theatre, Shakespeare North Playhouse & Queen's Theatre Hornchurch)