Michelle Terry named Shakespeare’s Globe artistic director
She replaces Emma Rice as creative lead.
Michelle Terry has been named the new artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe.
The Olivier Award-winning actor and writer will replace Emma Rice as creative lead at the London theatre.
Rice is leaving after three years in the role following a difference of opinion over lighting techniques.
Terry, who is well known to the Globe’s stage having starred as Rosalind in As You Like It in 2015 and as Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2013, will begin her new role in April 2018.
She also directed a series of short films created as part of the Globe’s celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in 2016.
“The work of Shakespeare is for me timeless, mythic, mysterious, vital, profoundly human and unapologetically theatrical. There are no other theatres more perfectly suited to house these plays than the pure and uniquely democratic spaces of the Globe and the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse,” Terry said.
“I am so proud and excited that I will be in the privileged position where I can offer artists the opportunity to come together to reclaim and rediscover not only Shakespeare, but the work of his contemporaries, alongside new work from our current writers.”
She added: “For us to then share those stories with an audience that demands an unparalleled honesty, clarity and bravery, is all a dream come true.”
She was named Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 2011 Olivier Awards, for her portrayal of Sylvia in the Royal Court Theatre production of Tribes.
The appointment was made by a panel including chief executive of the Globe, Neil Constable, who said: “I am delighted to announce Michelle Terry as the Globe’s next artistic director.
“Audiences have loved her sparkling and intelligent performances on our stage over the years – now they will have the opportunity to see her fresh artistic vision come to life as she moves into a new phase of her impressive career.”
It was revealed in October last year that Rice would depart the theatre as the board deemed her contemporary sound and lighting rigging had tainted the aim of recreating an authentic historical experience.
