GREGORY DORAN TO STEP DOWN AS RSC ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
GREGORY DORAN TO STEP DOWN AS RSC ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
DOWNLOAD IMAGES: HERE
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) announced that Gregory Doran will step down as Artistic Director from today, after 35 years with the Company including the last ten years as Artistic Director. Gregory will begin rehearsals next week for Richard III with Arthur Hughes in the title role and will remain with the Company as Artistic Director Emeritus until the end of 2023.
As Artistic Director Emeritus, Gregory will lead specific projects and direct a production in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre as part of the Shakespeare’s First Folio celebrations in 2023, this will be his 50th production for the RSC. Gregory will also deliver ongoing training for artists on Shakespeare’s verse throughout the year.
The search for the new Artistic Director will be conducted by the Non-Executive Board, supported by Donna Munday and executive search consultants Green Park. Details for applicants and the process will be available via the RSC website from Friday 29 April. Erica Whyman, who has been Acting Artistic Director since September 2021, will continue in this role during the search.
Gregory was announced as Artistic Director in 2012 and his first production as Artistic Director opened in September 2013 when he reunited with David Tennant, directing him in the title role of Richard II. The acclaimed production transferred to the Barbican Theatre, London and was the first RSC production to be seen live in cinemas around the world.
Speaking about his decision Gregory said:
‘It has been a real privilege to be a part of the amazing team leading this great Company for this last decade of challenge and achievement. And to work through the entire canon of plays in Shakespeare’s First Folio in time for its 400th anniversary next year. We have made many strides in making our theatre more inclusive, accessible, diverse and accountable, but there is always more to do, and I wish whoever succeeds me joy in continuing that work. I am honoured to have been granted the title of Artistic Director Emeritus until the end of 2023’.
Gregory has led the Company through the journey of Shakespeare’s canon during his decade as Artistic Director with a programme that celebrates the diversity of talent in the UK. As well as being performed live on stage, the productions have been screened in cinemas worldwide and shared free with schools across the UK with extensive accompanying educational resources. He championed the Company’s nationwide activity working in collaboration 12 Partner Theatres and their communities including a strong network of Associate Schools.
In his 2018 production of Troilus and Cressida he collaborated with virtuoso percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie. The production boasted the RSC’s first equally gender-balanced cast in a Shakespeare play on the main stage, and the first disabled actor to play a leading Shakespeare role for the Company with deaf actor Charlotte Arrowsmith as Cassandra.
Gregory has directed Measure For Measure (2019), the revival of his celebrated puppet Masque Venus and Adonis (2017) and King Lear with Antony Sher in the title role (2016). He led the Company’s digital innovation with a ground-breaking production of The Tempest (2016/7) with Simon Russell Beale as Prospero, created with Intel and in association with Imaginarium Studios. In 2015, his productions of Henry V (2015), Henry IV Parts I & II embarked on an international tour to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong prior to a month-long residency at New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music, joined by Richard II.
In 2016 Gregory directed Shakespeare Live! broadcast on the BBC and which marked the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. Many RSC alumni joined the line-up including Judi Dench, Paapa Essiedu, Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren and David Tennant, alongside the Company’s President HRH The Prince of Wales. The performance was nominated for a 2017 BAFTA for Best Live Event.
Other productions include the world stage premiere of David Walliams’ The Boy in the Dress in 2019, Death of A Salesman with Antony Sher and Harriet Walter and The Witch of Edmonton with Eileen Atkins in the title role.
In June 2012 Gregory received the Sam Wanamaker Award from Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, an annual award that recognises and celebrates work which has increased the understanding and enjoyment of Shakespeare. He delivered the 2016 Richard Dimbleby Lecture, which was broadcast on 16 March 2016 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death
Gregory, alongside Erica Whyman, has nurtured new, diverse voices and talent across all RSC stages and activity, as well as reopening The Other Place as a hub for new writing. The iconic RSC Costume Workshop was redeveloped and restored re-opening in 2021, an example of the craftmanship that exists and is at the core of the RSC.
Gregory led the Company through the Covid-19 pandemic alongside Executive Director, Catherine Mallyon. Work during the time the theatres were closed included co-directing the streamed open rehearsal project of Henry VI Part One alongside Owen Horsley, plus in-conversation streamed events for Talking Shakespeare with RSC alumni including Adjoa Andoh, Paterson Joseph, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Harriet Walter. The Winter’s Tale was reimagined for the screen, filmed in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and broadcast on BBC Four, then on iPlayer, and The Comedy of Errors performed outdoors in the specially created Lydia & Manfred Gorvy Garden Theatre.
Shriti Vadera, RSC Chair added:
‘Greg’s unparalleled knowledge of Shakespeare’s plays has created many memorable productions on our stages over a 35-year span that marks an extraordinary contribution to the RSC, not least as Artistic Director in the last 10 years. He has generously supported many artists at all stages of their careers and has championed young people’s learning and literacy through our unique school and Learning programmes.
‘Along with Catherine Mallyon and Erica Whyman, he recently steered the Company through the most difficult of times ensuring that we continued to support our audiences and the communities we work with. We are now emerging from the pandemic with resilience. I am delighted that Greg will continue to work with the RSC as Artistic Director Emeritus throughout 2023, the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio. On behalf of the Board and the many supporters and stakeholders of the RSC, I would like to express our deep gratitude to Greg’.
Catherine Mallyon, RSC Executive Director further added:
‘Much will be said about Greg’s extraordinary artistic contribution to the RSC, so I want to focus on the personal. Greg is the most wonderful colleague. The humanity we see shining through Greg’s work on stage is also what we experience every day. From a kind word to an incisive intervention, Greg always takes the time to understand us all as individuals. It has been a joy and an inspiration to work alongside Greg and I thank him with all my heart for being such a generous and supportive professional partner’.
ENDS
For further information contact: Jane.ellis@rsc.org.uk (07966 295032) or kate.evans@rsc.org.uk (07920 244434)
Gregory Doran biography
Gregory Doran has been described as ‘one of the great Shakespearians of his generation’ [Sunday Times]. Gregory was officially appointed as the RSC's Artistic Director on 14 September 2012 and programmed his first season from September 2013.
In June 2021 Gregory directed, alongside Owen Horsley, Henry VI Part One; Open Rehearsal Project, which invited audiences inside the full rehearsal process for the first time in the company’s history. The project culminated in a live rehearsal room run-through of Henry VI Part One broadcast online.
In November 2019, Gregory opened The Boy in the Dress – a new musical of David Walliams’ heart-warming comedy telling the story of star striker and fashion lover Dennis, adapted by former RSC writer-in-residence Mark Ravenhill, with new songs from Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers. The production garnered five-star reviews.
Gregory’s production of Measure for Measure opened in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in July 2019 and transferred to the Barbican in November that year, where it performed alongside The Taming of the Shrew and As You Like It until January 2020. All three plays embarked upon a UK tour, playing in repertoire on tour for the first time in RSC history.
At the end of 2018 Gregory directed Troilus and Cressida, collaborating with virtuoso percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie to create a futuristic vision of a world echoing with the rhythm of battle. The production marked the first time the RSC explored a full-length Shakespeare play with a cast with an equally gender-balanced cast and played in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre through October 2018.
In 2017 Gregory directed Imperium Part I: Conspirator and Imperium Part II: Dictator. Based on the Cicero Trilogy by Robert Harris and adapted for the stage by Mike Poulton, the six plays were performed across two separate performances, with Richard McCabe returning to the company in the role of Cicero. This theatrical event opened to huge critical acclaim in the Swan Theatre in December 2017 and transferred to the Gielgud Theatre in June 2018 for a limited West End season.
In July 2017, in association with Little Angel Theatre Company, Gregory revived his celebrated production of Shakespeare’s epic poem Venus and Adonis in the Swan Theatre, before visiting the Civic Theatre, Dublin in October in association with Dublin Theatre Festival.
On 23 April 2016, to mark Shakespeare’s birthday and the 400th anniversary of his death, Gregory directed Shakespeare Live! From the RSC. In a unique collaboration with the BBC, hosted by David Tennant and Catherine Tate, this special event celebrated Shakespeare’s legacy across the performing arts. It was nominated for a 2017 BAFTA for Best Live Event.
In June 2016 he directed King Lear with Antony Sher in the title role. The production performed in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in autumn 2016 and transferred to the Barbican Theatre in November of the same year. In spring 2018, Gregory’s revival of King Lear performed at Brooklyn Academy of Music, before returning for a short run in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in June 2018.
Gregory brought this special Shakespeare anniversary year to a close with his production of The Tempest, with Simon Russell Beale returning to the RSC as Prospero. In collaboration with Intel and in association with Imaginarium Studios, the production conjured Prospero’s magical island in an innovative new staging. It opened in November in Stratford-upon-Avon and transferred to London in July 2017.
Gregory directed Henry V in autumn 2015 on the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, before reviving his productions of Richard II and Henry IV Parts I & II, and all four plays performed together for the very first time at the Barbican Theatre under the banner King and Country from November 2015 until January 2016, launching the RSC’s celebrations of the 400th anniversary year of Shakespeare’s death. The productions then embarked upon a tour to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong in February and March 2016 before finally arriving at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York for a month-long residency in April and May 2016.
In 2015, the centenary year of Arthur Miller’s birth, Gregory directed a production of Miller’s great American tragedy, Death of a Salesman, with Antony Sher as Willy Loman, Harriet Walter as Linda Loman and Alex Hassell as their son, Biff. The production opened in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in April 2015 and transferred to the Noel Coward Theatre in London for a limited run from May 2015.
In 2014, Gregory directed Henry IV Parts I & II with Antony Sher as Falstaff, Jasper Britton as Henry IV and Alex Hassell as Hal. Both productions opened in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in April 2014 and played in Stratford-upon-Avon through the summer before travelling to Newcastle upon Tyne in October 2014. After a short UK tour in October and November 2014, the productions transferred to the Barbican Theatre, London in December 2014.
In autumn 2014 Gregory directed The Witch of Edmonton. Written by Dekker, Middleton and Ford, the production saw Eileen Atkins return to the RSC in her 80th birthday year. The show played in the Swan Theatre in October and November 2014.
In October 2013 Gregory reunited with David Tennant, directing Richard II in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The production then transferred to the Barbican Theatre in December 2013. In May 2013 the RSC announced “Live From Stratford-upon-Avon”, a new programme to screen its productions live from Shakespeare’s home town, and to stream the productions direct to UK schools. Richard II was the first RSC Shakespeare production to play live to cinemas around the world on 13 November 2013. His productions of Henry IV Parts I & II were broadcast live on 14 May and 18 June 2014 respectively, and Henry V was broadcast on 21 October 2015. King Lear was broadcast on 12 October 2016 and The Tempest on 11 January 2017. Troilus and Cressida was broadcast on 14 November 2018.
In 2012 he directed an acclaimed Julius Caesar set in modern Africa for the World Shakespeare Festival, and directed the Chinese classic, The Orphan of Zhao, in the Swan in Stratford-upon-Avon as part of the World Elsewhere Season in the same year.
His other recent RSC productions include: Written on the Heart by David Edgar, Cardenio, Morte d'Arthur in an adaptation by Mike Poulton, Twelfth Night, Hamlet [with David Tennant in the title role, Patrick Stewart as Claudius, and winner of The Whatsonstage Best Regional Production and Theatre Event of the Year in 2009], A Midsummer Night's Dream and Love's Labour's Lost. Other productions for the Company in the UK and internationally include: Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, All's Well That Ends Well, The Taming of the Shrew (paired with John Fletcher’s The Tamer Tamed), Much Ado About Nothing, The Winter's Tale, Othello, Merry Wives The Musical, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, King John, Timon of Athens, All Is True (Henry VIII), Venus and Adonis (in collaboration with The Little Angel Theatre), Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, Oroonoko by Biyi Bandele (after Aphra Behn), The Odyssey adapted by Derek Walcott, Jubilee by Peter Barnes, and co-directed a Mike Poulton adaptation of The Canterbury Tales.
In 2002, Gregory led a season of five seldom-performed Jacobean and Elizabethan plays and directed The Island Princess by John Fletcher. Gregory and the Company enjoyed a sell-out season at the Swan Theatre and a run at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End and received an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement of the Year. In 2005 he led the Gunpowder Season in the Swan, directing Ben Jonson's Sejanus in this season of neglected Jacobean works.
Elsewhere, his productions include: Anjin: The Shogun and The English Samurai by Mike Poulton and Shochiro Kawaii (Tokyo 2009 and 2012, Sadlers Wells 2013), The Merchant of Venice (Tokyo 2007), York Millennium Mystery Plays (York Minster), Black Comedy and The Real Inspector Hound (Donmar Warehouse Productions – Comedy Theatre), The Giant by Antony Sher (Hampstead Theatre), Mahler's Conversion by Ronald Harwood (Aldwych Theatre), Titus Andronicus (Market Theatre, Johannesburg and RNT Studio – TMA Award for Best Production), Twelfth Night, Ulysses (in Dermot Bolger's adaptation, Philadelphia), A Midsummer Night's Dream (NY State University), The Joker of Seville (Walcott/McDermott musical, Boston/Trinidad), Edward Bond's September (Canterbury Cathedral), Frank McGuinness’ Someone to Watch Over Me (Theatr Clwyd), Two Dogs and Freedom (Sadlers Wells and Channel 4). As Artistic Director of Century Theatre: The Importance of Being Earnest, Bedroom Farce, An Inspector Calls, Private Lives. As Associate Director of Nottingham Playhouse: Long Day's Journey Into Night, Waiting For Godot, The Norman Conquests, Hester, The Rose and The Ring.
His filmed version of Hamlet (BBC2/Illuminations) was broadcast in the UK on Boxing Day 2009 and in the US on PBS. His other film work includes: Macbeth (Channel 4/Illuminations) and A Midsummer Night's Dreaming (BBC4 documentary based on research for his own production); and he directed extracts from various Shakespeare plays for Michael Wood's BBC series, In Search of Shakespeare. Illuminations also filmed his World Shakespeare Festival production of Julius Caesar, which was broadcast on BBC4 as part of the BBC's Shakespeare Season for the Cultural Olympiad in June 2012.
With the British Library, Gregory compiled two highly successful CDs of extracts from live recordings of great performances from Stratford since the late fifties: Essential Shakespeare LIVE!, and Essential Shakespeare ENCORE!
His writing credits include Woza Shakespeare! co-authored with his partner Antony Sher about their production of Titus Andronicus in South Africa in 1995; The Shakespeare Almanac in 2009; and Shakespeare's Lost Play: In search of Cardenio in 2011.
Gregory began his career with the RSC as an actor in the 1987-88 season, becoming an Assistant Director in 1989. He was made an Associate Director in 1996 and became Chief Associate Director in 2006. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, and an Honorary Senior Research Fellow of the Shakespeare Institute. He has been awarded Honorary Doctorates by the University of Huddersfield, the University of Nottingham, the University of Bristol, the University of Warwick, the University of Birmingham, the University of Hull and the University of York. He was also the 2012-13 incumbent of the Humanitas Visiting Professor in Drama at Oxford University.
On 13 February 2017 Gregory gave the sixth Annual London Shakespeare Lecture in honour of Sir Stanley Wells at the University of Notre Dame. In June 2012 he received the Sam Wanamaker Award from Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, an annual award that recognises and celebrates work which has increased the understanding and enjoyment of Shakespeare.
Gregory delivered the 2016 Richard Dimbleby Lecture, which was broadcast on 16 March 2016 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.
The RSC is supported using public funding by Arts Council England
The work of the RSC is supported by the Culture Recovery Fund
The RSC is generously supported by RSC America
Richard III is supported by Season Supporter Charles Holloway
The Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Garden Theatre was supported by Lydia and Manfred Gorvy.
The work of the RSC Literary Department is generously supported by The Drue and H.J. Heinz II Charitable Trust
The work of the RSC Learning and National Partnerships is generously supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, The Clore Duffield Foundation, The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust, GRoW@Annenberg, The Polonsky Foundation, Stratford Town Trust, The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity, Teale Charitable Trust, The Grimmitt Trust and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk
The Royal Shakespeare Company creates world class theatre, made in Stratford-upon-Avon and shared around the world, performing plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, as well as commissioning an exceptionally wide range of original work from contemporary writers. Our purpose is to ensure that Shakespeare is for everyone, and we do that by unlocking the power of his plays and of live performance, throughout the UK and across the world.
We believe everybody’s life is enriched by culture and creativity. We have trained generations of the very best theatre makers and we continue to nurture the talent of the future. Our transformative Learning Programmes reach over half a million young people and adults each year, and through our Placemaking and Public Programme we create projects with and for communities who have not historically engaged with our work. We are a leader in creative immersive technologies and digital development.
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GREGORY DORAN TO STEP DOWN AS RSC ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
DOWNLOAD IMAGES: HERE
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) announced that Gregory Doran will step down as Artistic Director from today, after 35 years with the Company including the last ten years as Artistic Director. Gregory will begin rehearsals next week for Richard III with Arthur Hughes in the title role and will remain with the Company as Artistic Director Emeritus until the end of 2023.
As Artistic Director Emeritus, Gregory will lead specific projects and direct a production in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre as part of the Shakespeare’s First Folio celebrations in 2023, this will be his 50th production for the RSC. Gregory will also deliver ongoing training for artists on Shakespeare’s verse throughout the year.
The search for the new Artistic Director will be conducted by the Non-Executive Board, supported by Donna Munday and executive search consultants Green Park. Details for applicants and the process will be available via the RSC website from Friday 29 April. Erica Whyman, who has been Acting Artistic Director since September 2021, will continue in this role during the search.
Gregory was announced as Artistic Director in 2012 and his first production as Artistic Director opened in September 2013 when he reunited with David Tennant, directing him in the title role of Richard II. The acclaimed production transferred to the Barbican Theatre, London and was the first RSC production to be seen live in cinemas around the world.
Speaking about his decision Gregory said:
‘It has been a real privilege to be a part of the amazing team leading this great Company for this last decade of challenge and achievement. And to work through the entire canon of plays in Shakespeare’s First Folio in time for its 400th anniversary next year. We have made many strides in making our theatre more inclusive, accessible, diverse and accountable, but there is always more to do, and I wish whoever succeeds me joy in continuing that work. I am honoured to have been granted the title of Artistic Director Emeritus until the end of 2023’.
Gregory has led the Company through the journey of Shakespeare’s canon during his decade as Artistic Director with a programme that celebrates the diversity of talent in the UK. As well as being performed live on stage, the productions have been screened in cinemas worldwide and shared free with schools across the UK with extensive accompanying educational resources. He championed the Company’s nationwide activity working in collaboration 12 Partner Theatres and their communities including a strong network of Associate Schools.
In his 2018 production of Troilus and Cressida he collaborated with virtuoso percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie. The production boasted the RSC’s first equally gender-balanced cast in a Shakespeare play on the main stage, and the first disabled actor to play a leading Shakespeare role for the Company with deaf actor Charlotte Arrowsmith as Cassandra.
Gregory has directed Measure For Measure (2019), the revival of his celebrated puppet Masque Venus and Adonis (2017) and King Lear with Antony Sher in the title role (2016). He led the Company’s digital innovation with a ground-breaking production of The Tempest (2016/7) with Simon Russell Beale as Prospero, created with Intel and in association with Imaginarium Studios. In 2015, his productions of Henry V (2015), Henry IV Parts I & II embarked on an international tour to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong prior to a month-long residency at New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music, joined by Richard II.
In 2016 Gregory directed Shakespeare Live! broadcast on the BBC and which marked the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. Many RSC alumni joined the line-up including Judi Dench, Paapa Essiedu, Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren and David Tennant, alongside the Company’s President HRH The Prince of Wales. The performance was nominated for a 2017 BAFTA for Best Live Event.
Other productions include the world stage premiere of David Walliams’ The Boy in the Dress in 2019, Death of A Salesman with Antony Sher and Harriet Walter and The Witch of Edmonton with Eileen Atkins in the title role.
In June 2012 Gregory received the Sam Wanamaker Award from Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, an annual award that recognises and celebrates work which has increased the understanding and enjoyment of Shakespeare. He delivered the 2016 Richard Dimbleby Lecture, which was broadcast on 16 March 2016 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death
Gregory, alongside Erica Whyman, has nurtured new, diverse voices and talent across all RSC stages and activity, as well as reopening The Other Place as a hub for new writing. The iconic RSC Costume Workshop was redeveloped and restored re-opening in 2021, an example of the craftmanship that exists and is at the core of the RSC.
Gregory led the Company through the Covid-19 pandemic alongside Executive Director, Catherine Mallyon. Work during the time the theatres were closed included co-directing the streamed open rehearsal project of Henry VI Part One alongside Owen Horsley, plus in-conversation streamed events for Talking Shakespeare with RSC alumni including Adjoa Andoh, Paterson Joseph, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Harriet Walter. The Winter’s Tale was reimagined for the screen, filmed in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and broadcast on BBC Four, then on iPlayer, and The Comedy of Errors performed outdoors in the specially created Lydia & Manfred Gorvy Garden Theatre.
Shriti Vadera, RSC Chair added:
‘Greg’s unparalleled knowledge of Shakespeare’s plays has created many memorable productions on our stages over a 35-year span that marks an extraordinary contribution to the RSC, not least as Artistic Director in the last 10 years. He has generously supported many artists at all stages of their careers and has championed young people’s learning and literacy through our unique school and Learning programmes.
‘Along with Catherine Mallyon and Erica Whyman, he recently steered the Company through the most difficult of times ensuring that we continued to support our audiences and the communities we work with. We are now emerging from the pandemic with resilience. I am delighted that Greg will continue to work with the RSC as Artistic Director Emeritus throughout 2023, the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio. On behalf of the Board and the many supporters and stakeholders of the RSC, I would like to express our deep gratitude to Greg’.
Catherine Mallyon, RSC Executive Director further added:
‘Much will be said about Greg’s extraordinary artistic contribution to the RSC, so I want to focus on the personal. Greg is the most wonderful colleague. The humanity we see shining through Greg’s work on stage is also what we experience every day. From a kind word to an incisive intervention, Greg always takes the time to understand us all as individuals. It has been a joy and an inspiration to work alongside Greg and I thank him with all my heart for being such a generous and supportive professional partner’.
ENDS
For further information contact: Jane.ellis@rsc.org.uk (07966 295032) or kate.evans@rsc.org.uk (07920 244434)
Gregory Doran biography
Gregory Doran has been described as ‘one of the great Shakespearians of his generation’ [Sunday Times]. Gregory was officially appointed as the RSC's Artistic Director on 14 September 2012 and programmed his first season from September 2013.
In June 2021 Gregory directed, alongside Owen Horsley, Henry VI Part One; Open Rehearsal Project, which invited audiences inside the full rehearsal process for the first time in the company’s history. The project culminated in a live rehearsal room run-through of Henry VI Part One broadcast online.
In November 2019, Gregory opened The Boy in the Dress – a new musical of David Walliams’ heart-warming comedy telling the story of star striker and fashion lover Dennis, adapted by former RSC writer-in-residence Mark Ravenhill, with new songs from Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers. The production garnered five-star reviews.
Gregory’s production of Measure for Measure opened in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in July 2019 and transferred to the Barbican in November that year, where it performed alongside The Taming of the Shrew and As You Like It until January 2020. All three plays embarked upon a UK tour, playing in repertoire on tour for the first time in RSC history.
At the end of 2018 Gregory directed Troilus and Cressida, collaborating with virtuoso percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie to create a futuristic vision of a world echoing with the rhythm of battle. The production marked the first time the RSC explored a full-length Shakespeare play with a cast with an equally gender-balanced cast and played in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre through October 2018.
In 2017 Gregory directed Imperium Part I: Conspirator and Imperium Part II: Dictator. Based on the Cicero Trilogy by Robert Harris and adapted for the stage by Mike Poulton, the six plays were performed across two separate performances, with Richard McCabe returning to the company in the role of Cicero. This theatrical event opened to huge critical acclaim in the Swan Theatre in December 2017 and transferred to the Gielgud Theatre in June 2018 for a limited West End season.
In July 2017, in association with Little Angel Theatre Company, Gregory revived his celebrated production of Shakespeare’s epic poem Venus and Adonis in the Swan Theatre, before visiting the Civic Theatre, Dublin in October in association with Dublin Theatre Festival.
On 23 April 2016, to mark Shakespeare’s birthday and the 400th anniversary of his death, Gregory directed Shakespeare Live! From the RSC. In a unique collaboration with the BBC, hosted by David Tennant and Catherine Tate, this special event celebrated Shakespeare’s legacy across the performing arts. It was nominated for a 2017 BAFTA for Best Live Event.
In June 2016 he directed King Lear with Antony Sher in the title role. The production performed in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in autumn 2016 and transferred to the Barbican Theatre in November of the same year. In spring 2018, Gregory’s revival of King Lear performed at Brooklyn Academy of Music, before returning for a short run in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in June 2018.
Gregory brought this special Shakespeare anniversary year to a close with his production of The Tempest, with Simon Russell Beale returning to the RSC as Prospero. In collaboration with Intel and in association with Imaginarium Studios, the production conjured Prospero’s magical island in an innovative new staging. It opened in November in Stratford-upon-Avon and transferred to London in July 2017.
Gregory directed Henry V in autumn 2015 on the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, before reviving his productions of Richard II and Henry IV Parts I & II, and all four plays performed together for the very first time at the Barbican Theatre under the banner King and Country from November 2015 until January 2016, launching the RSC’s celebrations of the 400th anniversary year of Shakespeare’s death. The productions then embarked upon a tour to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong in February and March 2016 before finally arriving at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York for a month-long residency in April and May 2016.
In 2015, the centenary year of Arthur Miller’s birth, Gregory directed a production of Miller’s great American tragedy, Death of a Salesman, with Antony Sher as Willy Loman, Harriet Walter as Linda Loman and Alex Hassell as their son, Biff. The production opened in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in April 2015 and transferred to the Noel Coward Theatre in London for a limited run from May 2015.
In 2014, Gregory directed Henry IV Parts I & II with Antony Sher as Falstaff, Jasper Britton as Henry IV and Alex Hassell as Hal. Both productions opened in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in April 2014 and played in Stratford-upon-Avon through the summer before travelling to Newcastle upon Tyne in October 2014. After a short UK tour in October and November 2014, the productions transferred to the Barbican Theatre, London in December 2014.
In autumn 2014 Gregory directed The Witch of Edmonton. Written by Dekker, Middleton and Ford, the production saw Eileen Atkins return to the RSC in her 80th birthday year. The show played in the Swan Theatre in October and November 2014.
In October 2013 Gregory reunited with David Tennant, directing Richard II in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The production then transferred to the Barbican Theatre in December 2013. In May 2013 the RSC announced “Live From Stratford-upon-Avon”, a new programme to screen its productions live from Shakespeare’s home town, and to stream the productions direct to UK schools. Richard II was the first RSC Shakespeare production to play live to cinemas around the world on 13 November 2013. His productions of Henry IV Parts I & II were broadcast live on 14 May and 18 June 2014 respectively, and Henry V was broadcast on 21 October 2015. King Lear was broadcast on 12 October 2016 and The Tempest on 11 January 2017. Troilus and Cressida was broadcast on 14 November 2018.
In 2012 he directed an acclaimed Julius Caesar set in modern Africa for the World Shakespeare Festival, and directed the Chinese classic, The Orphan of Zhao, in the Swan in Stratford-upon-Avon as part of the World Elsewhere Season in the same year.
His other recent RSC productions include: Written on the Heart by David Edgar, Cardenio, Morte d'Arthur in an adaptation by Mike Poulton, Twelfth Night, Hamlet [with David Tennant in the title role, Patrick Stewart as Claudius, and winner of The Whatsonstage Best Regional Production and Theatre Event of the Year in 2009], A Midsummer Night's Dream and Love's Labour's Lost. Other productions for the Company in the UK and internationally include: Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, All's Well That Ends Well, The Taming of the Shrew (paired with John Fletcher’s The Tamer Tamed), Much Ado About Nothing, The Winter's Tale, Othello, Merry Wives The Musical, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, King John, Timon of Athens, All Is True (Henry VIII), Venus and Adonis (in collaboration with The Little Angel Theatre), Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, Oroonoko by Biyi Bandele (after Aphra Behn), The Odyssey adapted by Derek Walcott, Jubilee by Peter Barnes, and co-directed a Mike Poulton adaptation of The Canterbury Tales.
In 2002, Gregory led a season of five seldom-performed Jacobean and Elizabethan plays and directed The Island Princess by John Fletcher. Gregory and the Company enjoyed a sell-out season at the Swan Theatre and a run at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End and received an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement of the Year. In 2005 he led the Gunpowder Season in the Swan, directing Ben Jonson's Sejanus in this season of neglected Jacobean works.
Elsewhere, his productions include: Anjin: The Shogun and The English Samurai by Mike Poulton and Shochiro Kawaii (Tokyo 2009 and 2012, Sadlers Wells 2013), The Merchant of Venice (Tokyo 2007), York Millennium Mystery Plays (York Minster), Black Comedy and The Real Inspector Hound (Donmar Warehouse Productions – Comedy Theatre), The Giant by Antony Sher (Hampstead Theatre), Mahler's Conversion by Ronald Harwood (Aldwych Theatre), Titus Andronicus (Market Theatre, Johannesburg and RNT Studio – TMA Award for Best Production), Twelfth Night, Ulysses (in Dermot Bolger's adaptation, Philadelphia), A Midsummer Night's Dream (NY State University), The Joker of Seville (Walcott/McDermott musical, Boston/Trinidad), Edward Bond's September (Canterbury Cathedral), Frank McGuinness’ Someone to Watch Over Me (Theatr Clwyd), Two Dogs and Freedom (Sadlers Wells and Channel 4). As Artistic Director of Century Theatre: The Importance of Being Earnest, Bedroom Farce, An Inspector Calls, Private Lives. As Associate Director of Nottingham Playhouse: Long Day's Journey Into Night, Waiting For Godot, The Norman Conquests, Hester, The Rose and The Ring.
His filmed version of Hamlet (BBC2/Illuminations) was broadcast in the UK on Boxing Day 2009 and in the US on PBS. His other film work includes: Macbeth (Channel 4/Illuminations) and A Midsummer Night's Dreaming (BBC4 documentary based on research for his own production); and he directed extracts from various Shakespeare plays for Michael Wood's BBC series, In Search of Shakespeare. Illuminations also filmed his World Shakespeare Festival production of Julius Caesar, which was broadcast on BBC4 as part of the BBC's Shakespeare Season for the Cultural Olympiad in June 2012.
With the British Library, Gregory compiled two highly successful CDs of extracts from live recordings of great performances from Stratford since the late fifties: Essential Shakespeare LIVE!, and Essential Shakespeare ENCORE!
His writing credits include Woza Shakespeare! co-authored with his partner Antony Sher about their production of Titus Andronicus in South Africa in 1995; The Shakespeare Almanac in 2009; and Shakespeare's Lost Play: In search of Cardenio in 2011.
Gregory began his career with the RSC as an actor in the 1987-88 season, becoming an Assistant Director in 1989. He was made an Associate Director in 1996 and became Chief Associate Director in 2006. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, and an Honorary Senior Research Fellow of the Shakespeare Institute. He has been awarded Honorary Doctorates by the University of Huddersfield, the University of Nottingham, the University of Bristol, the University of Warwick, the University of Birmingham, the University of Hull and the University of York. He was also the 2012-13 incumbent of the Humanitas Visiting Professor in Drama at Oxford University.
On 13 February 2017 Gregory gave the sixth Annual London Shakespeare Lecture in honour of Sir Stanley Wells at the University of Notre Dame. In June 2012 he received the Sam Wanamaker Award from Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, an annual award that recognises and celebrates work which has increased the understanding and enjoyment of Shakespeare.
Gregory delivered the 2016 Richard Dimbleby Lecture, which was broadcast on 16 March 2016 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.
The RSC is supported using public funding by Arts Council England
The work of the RSC is supported by the Culture Recovery Fund
The RSC is generously supported by RSC America
Richard III is supported by Season Supporter Charles Holloway
The Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Garden Theatre was supported by Lydia and Manfred Gorvy.
The work of the RSC Literary Department is generously supported by The Drue and H.J. Heinz II Charitable Trust
The work of the RSC Learning and National Partnerships is generously supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, The Clore Duffield Foundation, The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust, GRoW@Annenberg, The Polonsky Foundation, Stratford Town Trust, The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity, Teale Charitable Trust, The Grimmitt Trust and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk
The Royal Shakespeare Company creates world class theatre, made in Stratford-upon-Avon and shared around the world, performing plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, as well as commissioning an exceptionally wide range of original work from contemporary writers. Our purpose is to ensure that Shakespeare is for everyone, and we do that by unlocking the power of his plays and of live performance, throughout the UK and across the world.
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