Gregory Doran, the RSC’s artistic director, is stepping down after a decade on the job

After a decade in the position, the artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is stepping down.

The RSC announced that Gregory Doran, who has been with the company for 35 years, will remain as artistic director emeritus until the end of 2023.

Next week, he will begin rehearsals for Richard III, in which Arthur Hughes will play the lead role.

Serving with the organisation has been a “true privilege,” he said.

“We’ve come a long way in making our theatre more inclusive, accessible, diverse, and accountable,” he added, “but there’s always more to do, and I hope whoever replaces me delights in carrying on that effort.”

He was appointed to the position in 2012, and in his debut production, he directed David Tennant in the title role of Richard II, which was the first RSC play to be broadcast live in cinemas around the world.

Troilus and Cressida, which he directed in 2018, featured a collaboration with drummer Dame Evelyn Glennie and featured the company’s first equally gender-balanced cast in a Shakespeare play on the main stage, as well as the company’s first disabled actor in a key Shakespeare part.

Other RSC productions include the world premiere of David Walliams’ The Boy in the Dress, which includes songs by Robbie Williams, and Death of a Salesman, with husband Sir Antony Sher, both of which are based in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire.

Mr Doran had taken compassionate leave to care for Sher, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 72 from cancer.

RSC chair Shriti Vadera said Mr Doran made an “exceptional contribution” to the RSC throughout his 35-year career.

Through our unique school and learning programmes, he has generously sponsored numerous artists at various phases of their careers and championed young people’s learning and literacy.

During the search for a replacement, Erica Whyman, who has been acting creative director since September 2021, will stay on.