The RSC today announce that Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey, will be the Co-Artistic Directors of the Royal Shakespeare Company taking up the post from June 2023.  Daniel is currently Artistic Director of Chichester Festival Theatre and Tamara is Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd. Daniel and Tamara are regular collaborators and applied together for the position. 

Shriti Vadera, Chair of the RSC Board, said:

‘The Board is delighted to appoint Daniel and Tamara as Co-Artistic Directors from an exceptionally strong field of candidates. They bring a brilliant track record of artistic achievement with a strong commitment to education, communities and championing diverse talent and voices, alongside a proven strategic ability to lead major companies. Their partnership heralds an exciting vision for the future of the RSC to attract world-class artistic talent, captivate today’s audiences with Shakespeare, classics and new work, and increase radically the reach and impact of our pioneering learning, partnerships and digital work.’  

Daniel Evans said:

‘I was fortunate to see so many inspiring performances at Stratford during my teenage years; and later celebrated my 21st birthday there during my first professional job post-drama school. So, to be returning to the RSC as its Co-Artistic Director is immensely meaningful to me. To do so alongside Tamara is a joy and a privilege. We share deep-rooted values and an ambitious vision for the Company, and we’re both looking forward to working with Catherine and the team to begin this new, exciting chapter in the RSC’s story.’

Tamara Harvey said:

‘Being taken to Stratford to see Murder in the Cathedral at the Swan when I was fifteen was one of the most vivid moments of my childhood. A sense of awe, but even then, a desire to get in there and start making plays: two feelings I continue to hold today. Stepping into this job is both the most exciting and the most daunting thing I’ve ever done.The great joy of working in partnership with Daniel, an artist I admire beyond measure, is that we share both that excitement and that awe at becoming the next custodians of this amazing company. We bring a shared belief in all that the RSC can be – a home for radical, relevant theatre made by artists from across the UK and the wider world.  A global community inspired by Shakespeare, bringing together myriad voices to tell the stories of our time – and of all time.’

Catherine Mallyon, Executive Director, said:

‘I am excited to start a new leadership relationship with Daniel and Tamara who have a profound understanding of the RSC as a theatre and learning charity, combined with the high levels of the skill, imagination, talent and commitment required to make captivating theatre, unlock potential and inspire change.’

The Artistic Director role was publicly advertised in April 2022, following Gregory Doran’s decision to step down. Gregory has taken on the role of Artistic Director Emeritus until the end of 2023 and will direct his 50^th production for the Company in Spring 2023

DANIEL EVANS:

Daniel Evans grew up in South Wales and was educated in Welsh before training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He left college early in 1994 to join the Royal Shakespeare Company and returned to the company a decade later. His work as an actor has spanned Shakespeare, Sondheim and Sarah Kane, at the RSC, National Theatre, Royal Court, Donmar Warehouse, Menier, Sheffield and on Broadway. He’s the recipient of two Olivier Awards for his Sondheim performances.

In 2009, he was appointed Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres where he directed, among others, Shakespeare, Ibsen, Hare and Lerner and Lowe, as well as acting in Sondheim.

In 2016, he was appointed Artistic Director of Chichester Festival Theatre. During his tenure, CFT produced 17 world premieres, while 5 shows transferred to London or Broadway. Alongside Executive Director, Kathy Bourne, CFT navigated the challenges of the pandemic, advancing the meaningful work with and for the community in West Sussex.

TAMARA HARVEY:

Tamara Harvey was born in Botswana and grew up in Massachusetts and Brighton before graduating from the University of Bristol. She was a directing intern at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and her first professional job in theatre was as assistant director at Shakespeare’s Globe under Mark Rylance. Her work as a freelance director has included Shakespeare, classic revivals, new writing and musical theatre, at theatres in the West End, around the UK and in the USA.

In 2015, she was appointed Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd. Together with Executive Director Liam Evans-Ford, she has built partnerships and co-productions across the UK, including with the National Theatre, Paines Plough, the Sherman Theatre, National Theatre of Wales, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, ETT, Sheffield Theatres, the NHS, Social Services, the National Youth Theatre of Wales and the National Trust. Her award-winning shows for Theatr Clwyd include Home, I’m Darling by Laura Wade (nominated for five Olivier Awards, winning Best New Comedy), Peter Gill’s version of Uncle Vanya, digital adaptations of The Picture of Dorian Gray and What A Carve Up! and Isla, which she then directed for the BBC. Theatr Clwyd has also, under her and Liam’s leadership, become a vibrant and vital home for its community, with far-reaching programmes for young and old, working across health and well-being, social services, music, dance, visual arts and theatre.

Photo credit: Seamus Ryan