RSC appoints joint artistic directors with ‘strong commitment to education’

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has appointed Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey as its co-artistic directors.

Evans and Harvey applied for the position together, and will take up the post form June 2023.

They will replace Gregory Doran, who announced he was stepping down from the position in April; Erica Whyman has been acting artistic director following his departure. 

Head of the recruiting panel and RSC chair, Shriti Vadera, praised Evans and Harvey’s ‘brilliant track record of artistic achievement with a strong commitment to education, communities and championing diverse talent and voices’, alongside their proven ability to run big companies.

Currently artistic director of Chichester Festival Theatre, Evans described getting the job as ‘immensely meaningful’, saying that he and Harvey share ‘deep-rooted values and an ambitious vision for the company’. 

Harvey, who is currently artistic director of Theatr Clwyd, says that the duo share a ‘belief in all that the RSC can be: a home for radical, relevant theatre made by artists across the UK and the wider world’. 

Executive director Catherine Mallyone said that Evans and Harvey have a ‘shared 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’.

Following the appointment, Whyman will continue as acting artistic director until June 2023, after which she will leave the company to pursue a freelance career. The company’s 2023 season, programmed by Whyman, will be announced next week.