Kenny has been working in the West End since 1989, first as an usher, then as a flyman, box office clerk, follow spot operator and on-stage crew. Most recently, he is honoured to have completed a six-year term, initially as President and then as Vice President of the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) – the trade organisation for the West End Theatre industry.
Over the Christmas season of 2023, as a Producer, he will have four productions running concurrently in the West End with four other shows touring the UK.
Notable shows include the world première of Top Hat, winner of three Olivier Awards including ‘Best New Musical’ (2013) and winner of the Evening Standard Award for ‘Best Night Out’ (2012). Once On This Island, winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for ‘Best New Musical’ (1995). The Worst Witch won the Laurence Olivier Award for ‘Best Family Show’ in 2019 with Hey Duggee The Live Theatre Show winning the same award in 2023.
His current productions include Derren Brown’s Unbelievable which opened at the Criterion Theatre in London, We’re Going On A Bear Hunt currently on international and UK tour, Peter Pan Goes Wrong at the Lyric Theatre and SIX which is playing to packed houses in the West End and on a UK tour, on Broadway, where it won two Tony Awards, and on a US Tour. Most recently, SIX opened autumn 2023 in Toronto and Amsterdam, having previously completed runs in Korea and Australia. The studio album received ‘gold’ status and together with the Broadway cast album, the songs from the show have over 800 million streams.
In development, he has Toby Marlow’s and Lucy Moss’s new musical Why Am I So Single, which enjoyed a workshop production at the Lilian Baylis Theatre in autumn 2023 and The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, based on the true story of William Kamkwamba who single-handedly built a windmill in his village to create electric light for his family’s dwelling.
In 2022, Kenny opened Identical, based on the book ‘The Parent Trap’ by Erich Kastner. Directed by Trevor Nunn, it received tremendous reviews for its try-out production and is awaiting a theatre for a West End transfer. 2023 sees a remount of Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World, based on the book of the same name by Kate Pankhurst – a pop-fuelled celebration of some of history’s most incredible women and their stories. The Company produced the first ever UK tour of Bugsy Malone – the acclaimed Lyric Hammersmith production, based on the world-famous movie by Alan Parker; and a show based on the CBeebies smash hit Hey Duggee The Live Theatre Show. Kenny also collaborated with New Vic Theatre from Stoke-on-Trent, to produce at the Alexandra Palace Theatre in London, the legendary story of The Great Escape in Tom, Dick & Harry.
Kenny has so far produced seven shows with Mischief Theatre: including The Play That Goes Wrong (winner of the Olivier Award for ‘Best New Comedy’ and a Tony Award on Broadway) which is entering its tenth year in the West End at the Duchess Theatre; Peter Pan Goes Wrong which completed successful runs in Los Angeles and Broadway before embarking on a UK tour starting in the West End; The Comedy About A Bank Robbery which ran for four years at the Criterion Theatre; Mischief Movie Night gained Mischief its fourth consecutive Olivier nomination and was streamed for the first time all over the world in December 2020; Groan Ups which played at the Vaudeville in autumn 2019 and later toured the UK; Magic Goes Wrong, made in collaboration with magicians Penn & Teller, had it’s run in the West End at the Apollo Theatre. Establishing Mischief Screen with Mischief Theatre, Kenny was Executive Producer of two Christmas television specials on BBC 1: Peter Pan Goes Wrong and A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong. In spring 2020, Mischief hit the airwaves again with a comedy series commissioned by BBC 1, The Goes Wrong Show, available on DVD and to stream. The second series aired in autumn 2021 and is available on BBC iPlayer.
