Francis Hellyer
Francis Hellyer, smiling, in a dark jacket and open-collared shirt, photographed in black and white against a black background

Monaco

Francis Hellyer

Entrepreneur, producer and writer. He co-founded London Theatre Direct in 1999, and today runs tickadoo and the audio drama company Audiama.

The story so far

London, Cannes, Monaco

  1. Theatre signs for the Apollo and the Lyric lit up at night on Shaftesbury Avenue in London’s West End
    Shaftesbury Avenue, 2011. Photo: Donnchadh H, CC BY 2.0

    London Getting people to the show

    Francis began his career at the BBC. In 1999 he co-founded London Theatre Direct, which Trafalgar Entertainment’s chief executives later called “one of the UK’s first exclusively online ticket agencies”. Trafalgar acquired it in 2019.

    He is founder and CEO of tickadoo, which launched in July 2024 to sell official tickets for theatre, attractions, tours and experiences, and in August 2026 acquired BritishTheatre.com.

    The ventures
  2. Photographers and guests lining the red carpet steps of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, seen from above
    The Palais des Festivals, May 2022. Photo: ManoSolo13241324, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Cannes Making the stories

    He was executive producer and host of Tech To The Future, a short documentary directed by Sandro Monetti about science fiction becoming science fact, previewed at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. His film credits also include The Gospel of Us (2012) and Don’t Turn Out the Lights (2023).

    As chief executive of Audiama he executive-produced Lonely No More, an eight-part science fiction audio drama released by Big Finish in January 2026.

    Film and audio drama
  3. The Casino de Monte-Carlo lit up at night, its twin towers and arched facade behind the palms and fountain of the Place du Casino
    The Casino, Monte Carlo, 2006. Photo: sam garza, CC BY 2.0

    Monaco Home, and the room

    Francis lives in Monaco, where he is Chapter Chair of YPO Monaco and French Riviera. He is a member of the BAFTA Academy Circle and a BFI patron, and invests in and mentors early-stage companies.

    He writes on AI, live entertainment and leadership for Rolling Stone, Forbes and Fast Company, and from 2021 to 2023 he hosted Metaverse, 31 conversations with futurists, founders and scientists.

    The full story

Since 1999, in seven dates

Sources

  1. 1999

    Co-founds London Theatre Direct.

  2. 2014

    London Theatre Direct accepts bitcoin, reported by CoinDesk as the first ticket agency in the world to do so.

  3. 2019

    Trafalgar Entertainment acquires London Theatre Direct.

  4. 2021

    Writes for the Rolling Stone Culture Council. The Metaverse podcast begins.

  5. 2022

    Tech To The Future is previewed at the Cannes Film Festival.

  6. 2024

    tickadoo launches, in test markets in London, New York and Las Vegas.

  7. 2026

    Lonely No More is released. tickadoo acquires BritishTheatre.com.

From the Metaverse archive, 2021 to 2023

Selected conversations

All 31 episodes

Bylines

In print

All 71 pieces and press

Rolling Stone

Culture Council

Forbes

Business Council, and a profile

Fast Company

Executive Board

The harbour of Monaco at night, yachts along the quays and the lights of Monte Carlo rising up the hillside
Monte Carlo by night, 2004. Photo: Herry Lawford, CC BY 2.0

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