Which Production Companies Licensed The Chairs For Theater?

A lot of times the question of "who licensed the chairs" ends up being two different practical problems, and I tackle them differently depending on whether I’m doing rights clearance or tech rehearsal. For performance rights (scripts like 'The Chairs' or other theatrical works), I first look at the published acting edition — that’s where the licensing agent is listed. Common licensors I’ve dealt with include Concord Theatricals (formerly Samuel French), Dramatists Play Service, Playscripts, Music Theatre International, and Theatrical Rights Worldwide. Those agencies handle the paperwork, fees, and territory rules, and they’re the place to request performance permissions.

For physical seats and onstage furniture, I flip to local resources: prop rental houses, scenic shops, and event furniture suppliers. Universities and community theatres in my area often keep a directory of nearby prop houses and rental companies. If you need auditorium-style seating for a venue, you’ll contact seating manufacturers or specialized installers (they usually have showroom catalogs and spec sheets). Basically: rights? Look to licensing agencies or the script’s credits. Props/chairs? Call the prop houses or scenic shops. If you give me the exact production name or city, I can narrow the likely licensors or rental houses down for you.

I’ve had to hunt this down for productions more times than I can count, and the easiest way to break it down is to separate two meanings: the play titled 'The Chairs' and the literal chairs used in a theatre production. If you mean the play 'The Chairs' by Eugène Ionesco (or any authored play), the companies that license performances are usually theatrical licensing agencies or the playwright’s publisher/estate. Big names you’ll see listed on acting editions or rights pages include Concord Theatricals (which absorbed Samuel French), Dramatists Play Service, Music Theatre International (for musicals), Playscripts, Theatrical Rights Worldwide, and smaller national publishers like Nick Hern Books in the UK. For classic or foreign works the rights might sit with the author’s literary estate or a European publisher — so the front matter of the script usually tells you who to contact.

If you actually meant physical chairs used onstage (as set pieces or auditorium seating), that’s a different chain: prop houses, scenic shops, and seating manufacturers. Regional prop rental houses and set workshops rent or fabricate period chairs; for venue seating you’d be talking to specialist manufacturers and vendors. Either way, the practical steps I always take are: check the script for publisher/rights info, search the title on the major licensing sites, and if it’s about props, contact local prop shops or your university/community theatre’s scenic department. Those paths have saved me from accidentally performing without proper rights more than once.

If you’re trying to put on a specific production and want a direct lead, tell me the exact title and region (community, school, professional, which country) and I’ll point to the most likely licensing contact — or the nearest prop house for renting chairs.

When people ask who licensed "the chairs" for theatre, I always think first about rights versus rental. If it’s a play (for example, a show called 'The Chairs'), licensing is handled by theatrical publishers or rights agencies — the usual suspects being Concord Theatricals (Samuel French), Dramatists Play Service, Playscripts, Music Theatre International, and Theatrical Rights Worldwide, plus regional publishers like Nick Hern Books in the UK. The acting edition or the publisher page will tell you which one to contact; sometimes rights live with the author’s estate or a European publisher for translated classics.

If the question was literally about the physical chairs used onstage or in the house, then prop houses, scenic shops, and event furniture rental companies are the ones who “license” or rent them out. For auditorium seating it’s manufacturers and specialized installers. My quick tip: check the script’s title page for rights info first, and if you’re dealing with furniture ask local theatres or your city’s prop rental listings — they usually have trusted vendors and can point you to the right company.