Shakespeare’s Globe appoints Emma Rice as new artistic director

Artistic director of the innovative Cornwall-based Kneehigh theatre company has landed the top job at Shakespeare’s Globe in London.


Emma Rice is the first woman to be given the role of artistic director at the Bankside theatre, following on from Dominic Dromgoole and Mark Rylance, reports The Independent.


She will take up her new post in April 2016 when Dromgoole gives up his ten year tenure.


The job description, advertised four months ago, called for an “experienced and dynamic theatre professional with a love of and knowledge of Shakespeare.”


Rice has directed numerous shows for Kneehigh, where she is joint artistic director, including The Red Shoes, Tristan & Yseult, Don John and Brief Encounter.


Rice trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and joined Kneehigh as a performer in 1994, beginning her directing career several years later with a specialism for outdoor and site specific productions.


“I am delighted and honored to be taking over the artistic direction of Shakespeare's Globe,” she said in a statement.


“Open to the elements, and to its audience, this unique and important space demands theatre that brims with passion, joy and humanity. With Kneehigh and Cornwall carried safely in my heart, I will take custody of this incredible organisation with an open heart, fierce passion and excited mind."


The Globe, which is a replica of an Elizabethan playhouse built not far from where the original was built in 1599, opened in 1997 with Rylance as its inaugural artistic director.


He went on to be a household name following his turn in Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem at the Royal Court and was most recently seen on television as Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall.