NEW HIRE
U.K. podcast production outfit Blanchard House has tapped HBO Max podcasting strategy director Hassan Chaudhry as its new head of partnerships and strategy, Variety can exclusively reveal. Meanwhile Amica Sciortino Nowlan, formerly of The Economist, joins as managing producer.
The new hires come ahead of a busy year for the podcast outfit, which is set to launch five shows this year, including two at Audible.
Chaudhry, who is based in New York, is responsible for establishing and leading HBO Max’s podcasting group, whose output includes “The Game of Thrones Podcast” and “Batman: The Audio Adventures.” At Blanchard House Chaudhry will look after film and TV relationships and lead growth.
Sciortino Nowlan is an award-winning audio producer who helped build The Economist’s audio features team.
“We’re so delighted to add Hassan and Amica to our growing team,” said Blanchard House co-founder Rosie Pye. “We’ve got an extremely busy year ahead, so to have new team members of this calibre is exceptional. We look forward this year to finally releasing some phenomenal shows with our brilliant partners.”
THEATER
“Winnie the Pooh The Musical” launched in London with a gala performance on Sunday. The 65-minute family show sees A.A. Milne’s tubby little cubby brought to life along with his furry friends. The show is set to run at Riverside Studios until May 21 when it will head off on a U.K. tour. Jake Bazel reprises his role as Winnie the Pooh, which he originated in the New York production of the show.
The cast of “Winnie the Pooh The Musical” (© Danny Kaan courtesy of Disney)
