Nica Burns
Nica Burns OBE is a London theatre producer and co-owner with her business partner Max Weitzenhoffer of the Nimax Theatres group, comprising six West End theatres: the Palace, Lyric, Apollo, Garrick, Vaudeville and Duchess. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to theatre.[1] At the 2013 Private Business Awards Burns was awarded Private Businesswoman of the Year.
As CEO of Nimax Theatres, one of her many houses - the Apollo - was the centre of a news story on December 19, 2013, when portions of the ceiling collapsed, bringing down some of the lighting rig on the audience.[2]
Following an early career in acting, Burns moved to directing and producing, co-writing and performing in H. E. Bates’ Dulcima at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She has been director and producer of the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards (formerly Perrier Awards) from 1984 to the present day.
Her productions include:
- A Whistle In the Dark (Royal Court Theatre)
- Hedda Gabler with Fiona Shaw, directed by Deborah Warner (Playhouse Theatre)
- Eartha Kitt in Concert (director, Shaftesbury Theatre)
- You Never Know Who’s Out There by Debbie Isitt (The Drill Hall)
- The Comedy Store Players (national tour)
- Mike McShane with Sweeney & Steen (tour)
- Fascinating Aida - director of three West End shows (Piccadilly Theatre, Garrick, Vaudeville) plus national and international tours)
- Medea with Fiona Shaw, directed by Deborah Warner (Queens and Broadway, 2002)
- Feelgood by Alistair Beaton (Garrick)
- Kiss Me, Kate (Victoria Palace Theatre)
- My Brilliant Divorce, a new play by Geraldine Aron with Dawn French (Apollo)
- Sitting Pretty by Amy Rosenthal (tour)
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest with Christian Slater (Gielgud Theatre)
- Man and Boy with David Suchet (Duchess)
- Who’s the Daddy?, a new play by Toby Young and Lloyd Evans (King’s Head)
- Some Girl(s) with David Schwimmer by Neil La Bute (Gielgud)
- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with Kathleen Turner (Apollo)
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest with Christian Slater and Alex Kingston (Garrick)
- Breakfast with Mugabe, a new play by Fraser Grace, directed by Anthony Sher (Duchess)
- Fool for Love with Juliette Lewis (Apollo)
- See How They Run (Duchess)
- A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O'Neill, with Kevin Spacey (Old Vic and Broadway)
- Swimming with Sharks, a new play adapted by Michael Leslie with Christian Slater and Matt Smith (Vaudeville)
- Rain Man, a new play adapted from the film by Dan Gordon with Josh Hartnett (Apollo)
- The Deep Blue Sea by Terence Rattigan, with Greta Scacchi (Vaudeville)
- The Female of the Species with Dame Eileen Atkins (Vaudeville)
- Piaf with Elena Rogers (Vaudeville)
- Three Days of Rain with James McAvoy (Apollo)
- Timing, a new play by Alistair McGowan (King’s Head)
- The Rise and Fall of Little Voice with Diana Vickers, Lesley Sharp and Marc Warren (Vaudeville)
- Taking Sides and Collaboration by Ronald Harwood (Duchess)
- A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim (Garrick and Broadway transfer with Catherine Zeta Jones)
- Endgame by Samuel Becket, with Mark Rylance and Simon McBurney (Duchess)
- The Little Dog Laughed with Tamsin Greig and Gemma Arterton (Garrick)
- Ghosts (Duchess)
- When We Are Married by J. B. Priestley (Garrick)
- Design for Living (co-production with The Old Vic)
- In a Forest, Dark and Deep, a new Neil Labute play with Matthew Fox and Olivia Williams at the Vaudeville
- Ecstasy by Mike Leigh (with Hampstead Theatre at the Duchess)
- Pygmalion with Rupert Everett and Kara Tointon (Garrick)
- Meow Meow (Apollo)
- Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’Neill with David Suchet and Laurie Metcalfe (Apollo) winner of the 2013 Laurence Oliver Award for Best Revival.
Notes
References
- Alistair Smith, The Stage 100 in Full December 30, 2009
External links
- Nimax Theatres website
- Nica Burns: Queen of Edinburgh Comedy, The Guardian