The Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England has announced its incoming co-artistic directors. Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey will take on the roles beginning in June, 2023.
Harvey and Evans applied to the position jointly, and regularly collaborate. They will work with Executive Director Catherine Mallyon upon taking over from Erica Whyman, who will continue serving as acting artistic director until next June.
“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," said Evans in a statement. "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.”
Harvey shared in a statement, “Being taken to Stratford to see Murder in the Cathedral at the Swan when I was 15 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.”
Harvey currently serves as artistic director of Theatr Clwyd in Wales where Laura Wade's Olivier-winning Home, I'm Darling, Peter Gill's Uncle Vanya, and more have been staged. She previously worked as a freelance director in the West End, the U.K., and the United States. Born in Botswana, Harvey was raised in Massachusetts. She began her career as a directing intern at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and assistant directed under Mark Rylance at Shakespeare's Globe for her first professional opportunity.
Evans joins the role after previously serving as artistic director of Chichester Festival Theatre, which staged 17 world premieres under his leadership, and as artistic director of Sheffield Theatres before that. As an actor, Evans has starred in West End productions and on Broadway in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Sunday in the Park with George. He returns to RSC where he previously acted in the company.
For more information, visit RSC.org.uk.
