Kenny Wax Productions

What Kenny Wax Productions does

Kenny Wax Productions is a London-based independent theatrical production company founded in 1995 that produces and co-produces plays, musicals, comedies, and family shows for the West End, UK touring circuit, Broadway, and international markets, while also providing turnkey general management services to external producers. The company owns or co-owns a portfolio of stage IP anchored by global hits SIX the Musical — which has generated 500M+ music streams and 3B+ TikTok views — and The Play That Goes Wrong, performed in 35+ countries across 6 continents with 745 regular performances plus 27 previews on Broadway. Adjacent lines include TV/film adaptations (The Goes Wrong Show on BBC), a wholly-owned consumer products subsidiary (The Mystery Agency, escape rooms in a box), and a family-show catalogue adapted from BBC properties such as Hey Duggee.

The company's business model is a hybrid of self-produced theatrical production (professional services revenue from box office, licensing, and replica production rights) and managed services revenue from general management engagements for other producers such as Sonia Friedman Productions, Live Nation, and Cuffe & Taylor. Distribution is multi-channel: direct West End runs at venues including the Duchess Theatre and Noël Coward Theatre, UK regional tours, Broadway (Lyceum Theatre) and Off-Broadway (New World Stages), international replica productions through local producer partnerships, and cruise ship performances. The company operates two wholly-owned subsidiaries — For Ex Wives LTD (handling international SIX operations) and The Mystery Agency — and is led by founder-producer Kenny Wax MBE, with a management team of approximately 30+ staff across production, general management, marketing, finance, and tour booking functions.

The company holds no external investment and operates without parent company control, funding growth organically from production cash flows. It has accumulated a substantial award record across Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, WhatsOnStage, and Manchester Theatre Awards, and maintains deep institutional relationships with the BBC, Historic Royal Palaces, Studio AKA, and major UK regional theatres. Geographic reach spans the UK, North America, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, the Netherlands, Singapore, the UAE, and Hong Kong.

Name

Kenny Wax Productions

Legal name

Kenny Wax Limited

Website

https://kennywax.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kenny Wax Productions is a London-based independent theatrical producer (founded 1995) that produces musicals, comedies, and family shows for the West End, UK tours, Broadway, and international markets, and provides general management services to other producers. Its portfolio includes global hits SIX the Musical and The Play That Goes Wrong.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Theatrical Production

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries (512)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Touring Theatre Productions (MPAGABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Theater, Musicals & Performing Arts (THAJAFAB)

Keywords

• Theatrical production services
• Musical production company
• General management services
• Live entertainment production
• West End productions

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Theatrical Production: Kenny Wax Productions generates revenue by producing and managing theatrical productions including musicals and plays that run in West End venues, tour nationally and internationally, and appear on Broadway and other major markets.
2. General Management Services: Provides experienced general management services for bespoke clients including budgeting, financial forecasting, accountancy, payroll management, licensing, contracting, casting, tour booking, graphic design, marketing management, production scheduling, logistics coordination, and event management.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kenny Wax Productions is a London-based theatrical production company that develops, produces, finances, and tours plays, musicals, comedies, and family shows for the West End, UK touring circuit, Broadway, international venues, and cruise ships. The company also provides turnkey general management services to external theatre producers and venues, handling budgeting, financial forecasting, payroll, licensing, casting, tour booking, marketing, and production logistics. Productions include globally recognised titles such as SIX the Musical and The Play That Goes Wrong.

Product overview

Kenny Wax Productions is a London-based theatrical production company founded in 1995, specializing in musicals, comedy, entertainment, and family shows for the West End, UK tours, and international markets. The company operates as a single unified production house offering both self-produced productions and general management services. Its core portfolio spans major West End hits (Six The Musical, The Play That Goes Wrong), family productions (Hey Duggee, We're Going on a Bear Hunt), comedy farces (Peter Pan Goes Wrong, Christmas Carol Goes Wrong), TV/film adaptations (The Goes Wrong Show), and an escape room product line (Mystery Agency). The company also provides turnkey general management services to external producers, handling everything from budgeting and payroll to marketing and tour logistics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Six the Musical A global musical theatre phenomenon putting the lives of Henry VIII's six wives centre stage in a royal retelling. Currently running in London, New York, South Korea, and on UK/North American tours, with over 500 million streams and 3 billion TikTok views. Targeted at general theatre audiences, particularly adults and fans of contemporary musicals.
• The Play That Goes Wrong A Tony Award-winning comedy where the accident-prone Cornley Drama Society attempts a murder mystery with disastrous results. Running in London's West End since 2014 and on Broadway, performed in over 35 countries. Targeted at general theatre audiences and comedy fans.
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind A musical based on William Kamkwamba's memoir about a 13-year-old boy who builds a windmill to save his drought-stricken village in Malawi. Targeted at family and general audiences seeking narrative-driven musicals.
• The Karate Kid A stage musical adaptation of the 1984 film, following Daniel LaRusso's coming-of-age story and his bond with Mr. Miyagi. Targeted at family audiences and fans of the original Karate Kid franchise.
• Christmas Carol Goes Wrong The Cornley Drama Society tackles Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol with their trademark comedic mayhem. Targeted at family audiences and comedy fans seeking seasonal theatrical entertainment.
• The Comedy About Spies A new spy comedy from Mischief set in 1960s London. CIA and KGB spies converge on Piccadilly Hotel in pursuit of top-secret weapon plans. Targeted at adult comedy theatre audiences.
• Why Am I So Single? A new musical from the creators of SIX following two best friends attempting to answer why they are single. Targeted at adult theatre audiences seeking contemporary musicals.
• Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 500 million music streams worldwide
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Wendy & Andy BarnescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-producers of SIX the Musical along with Kenny Wax and George Stiles. The partnership has produced one of the most successful global musical theatre phenomena.
• George StilescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-producer of SIX the Musical along with Kenny Wax and Wendy & Andy Barnes. The partnership has produced a globally successful musical.
• Live NationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrevious general management client of Kenny Wax Productions. Live Nation is a major live entertainment company.
• Cuffe & TaylormajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrevious general management client of Kenny Wax Productions. Cuffe & Taylor is a producing company specializing in live theatre.
• Sonia Friedman ProductionsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrevious general management client of Kenny Wax Productions. Sonia Friedman Productions is a prominent West End producing company.
• Theatre Royal BathmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for productions including Bugsy Malone.
• Birmingham Rep TheatremajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for productions including Bugsy Malone.
• New Vic TheatremajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for Tom, Dick & Harry production.
• BBCmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioning partner for The Goes Wrong Show television series. First season aired December 2019 to January 2020 on BBC One.
• BBCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Hey Duggee television series, which won BAFTAs and Emmys, is a BBC and Studio AKA production that Kenny Wax Productions adapted for live theatre.
• Studio AKAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnimation studio co-producing the Hey Duggee TV series with BBC. Kenny Wax Productions adapted Hey Duggee for live theatre.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bill Kenwright Ltd: Long-running independent UK theatrical producer producing West End, touring, and commercial productions. Highly comparable as a privately held, founder-led commercial producer of musicals, plays, and family shows across the UK and international touring circuits.
• Michael Harrison Entertainment: Independent UK producer of musicals, plays, and concert productions for West End and touring. Comparable as a similarly sized independent producer focused on commercial musicals and family entertainment programming in the West End and on tour.
• Sonia Friedman Productions: The UK's leading independent West End and Broadway producer with a global portfolio of plays and musicals. Directly comparable as an independent commercial producer that has also engaged Kenny Wax Productions for General Management services, operating in the same productions, venues, and premium commercial tier.

Regional players

• Stage Entertainment: Major European musical theatre producer operating shows across Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain, and Russia. Comparable as an independent commercial producer of musicals with significant European touring footprint, though headquartered primarily in Continental Europe rather than the UK/US market Kenny Wax anchors.

Broad incumbents

• Disney Theatrical Group: Major producer of stage adaptations of Disney IP (Lion King, Aladdin, Frozen) on Broadway and West End. Comparable as a West End/Broadway producer with global touring capability and strong brand-driven marketing, but backed by a vastly larger corporate parent and IP library.
• Nimax Theatres: Owner-operator of multiple West End theatres under producer Nica Burns, and a producer of West End and touring productions. Comparable as a London theatrical producer whose senior team has overlap with Kenny Wax alumni, though distinguished by its integrated venue ownership.
• Really Useful Group: Andrew Lloyd Webber's producer and IP owner (Phantom, Cats, School of Rock). A larger incumbent with a global IP portfolio and the capital base to mount mega-musicals; comparable on West End/Broadway production but at significantly greater scale and with much deeper IP reserves.
• Cameron Mackintosh Ltd: Iconic independent producer of Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, Hamilton (UK), and Mary Poppins. Comparable as a global-scale independent producer that has helped define the West End/Broadway mega-musical model, though with a far larger IP catalogue and longer run history.

Others

• Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC): Major UK producing theatre company producing Shakespeare, classical plays, and musicals (including Matilda) from its Stratford-upon-Avon home. Comparable as a UK producer creating stage IP that transfers to the West End and Broadway, though structured as a charity rather than a private commercial producer.

Emerging players

• Playful Productions: Founder-led UK independent producer of new musicals and plays for West End, touring, and international markets. Comparable as an independent producer building a slate of commercial musicals and family entertainment, though at an earlier stage of scale than Kenny Wax's flagship portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Kennywaxprods
• Facebookfacebook.com/KennyWaxProductions
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kenny-wax-limited
• Instagraminstagram.com/kennywaxproductions

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kenny Wax Productions