Concord Theatricals has announced the acquisition of the exclusive, global licensing rights to seven titles by James Graham, including the 2019 Best Play Tony Award nominee “Ink.” The drama is now available to license through Samuel French, an imprint of Concord.
The 1969-set “Ink” follows the real-life Rupert Murdoch as he purchases a struggling London newspaper, the Sun. Murdoch stops at nothing to make the outlet a must-read news source. Following an inaugural mounting in 2017 at London’s Almeida Theatre and a subsequent West End transfer, “Ink” began previews on Broadway on April 2, 2019 and opened on April 24 at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Featuring Tony-nominated direction by Rupert Goold, “Ink” played a limited engagement through June 7. The production was nominated for six 2019 Tony Awards, taking home trophies for Bertie Carvel’s featured turn as Murdoch and for Neil Austin’s lighting design.
In addition to “Ink,” the licensing rights to several other plays by Graham have been acquired by Concord, including “A History of Falling Things,” “Quiz,” “This House,” “The Man” and “The Whisky Taster,” all of which are now available through Samuel French. Licensing availability of Graham’s “Labour of Love,” which is also newly acquired, will be announced.
“I’m honored and delighted to announce that my plays have been acquired by Concord Theatricals for English-language licensing,” Graham said in a statement. “I can’t wait to see how new interpretations of my work resonate with audiences outside of the U.K., and to be working with Concord who are such champions of new writing and are dedicated to reaching new audiences with innovative theater.”
“James Graham is an extraordinary talent — a preeminent writer of his generation and ambassador of British theater,” noted Concord’s chief theatricals executive Sean Patrick Flahaven. “We are thrilled that he has chosen us as his home for so many of his groundbreaking, intelligent and entertaining works, and we look forward to bringing these titles, that explore and question the world around us, to audiences far and wide.”
Graham is currently represented on Broadway with his book for the musical “Tammy Faye,” which is also directed by Goold.
In addition to Samuel French, Concord’s licensing house encompasses R&H Theatricals, Tams-Witmark and the Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection.
