Gregory Doran will succeed Michael Boyd as Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company after 25 years working at the company as both an actor and director.
Doran, currently the RSC’s Chief Associate Director, said that he was “delighted” to have been appointed, adding: “…if my appointment represents something, it represents a long term commitment to the disciplines and craftsmanship required to do the astonishing plays of our ‘Star of Poets’, William Shakespeare.”
A trained actor, Doran’s relationship with the RSC began in the 1987-88 season in which he appeared on stage. His love of Shakespeare soon took him behind the scenes however, becoming an Assistant Director at the company in 1989. He then made his way up the ranks, becoming an Associate Director in 1996 and Chief Associate Director ten years later.
His most recent productions for the prestigious Stratford-upon-Avon based company include Written On The Heart, which transfers into the West End next month, Cardenio, Morte D’Arthur, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Love’s Labour’s Lost.
Announcing the appointment today, Nigel Hugill, the RSC’s Chairman, said: “Greg Doran is a perfect choice for the RSC and is well known to all our audiences. His long history with the Company is testament to his great skill as a director, his deep understanding of Shakespeare and a true commitment to theatre-making. He has directed many award-winning productions and seasons at the RSC, and taken our work right across the world, receiving recognition for his talent as far afield as the US, Japan, Spain and South Africa, as well as in the UK.”
Some of the Doran’s most prolific productions include 2009’s production of Hamlet, which starred David Tennant and was later made into a BBC film, and his 2002 season of Jacobean and Elizabethan plays which earned him an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement of the Year.
The RSC’s departing Artistic Director, Michael Boyd, described the appointment as “fantastic news”, saying he was “very pleased to be leaving the Company in such good hands. He is a first rate director, and nobody knows and loves the company more than him.”
Boyd will continue to plan work for the 2013 season until he steps down in September when Doran will undertake his first task of assembling an artistic team for the company’s future from 2014.