Features

10 things you need to know about Michelle Terry, the new artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe

Terry will replace Emma Rice who will leave the venue after the 2017 winter season

Ben Hewis

London

24 July 2017

Michelle Terry
© Dan Wooller for WhatsOnStage

Perhaps the most anticipated announcement in recent times, the new artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe has been announced as Michelle Terry. Here we take a look at everything you need to know about the actress.

1. Early life

Terry was born in Weston-super-Mare in 1979. She took up acting at an early age and joined the National Youth Theatre at the age of 14.

2. Training

After studying English Literature at Cardiff University, Terry graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2004.

3. Stage debut

Terry's professional stage debut came in a touring production of Blithe Spirit, in which she played the Maid and understudied Elvira. Directed by Thea Sharrock, the production transferred to the Savoy Theatre in London's West End, and in her review for the Guardian Lyn Gardner said: "The acting from every member of the cast is impeccable".

4. Shakespearean roles

Following Blithe Spirit, her next role was Celia in As You Like It at the New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme, which turned out to be one of many Shakespearean roles for the actress. A period with the Royal Shakespeare Company followed, which saw Terry star in several productions in Stratford-upon-Avon including
Pericles (2006/7) and The Winter's Tale (2006/07). Other Shakespearean roles included All's Well That Ends Well and The Comedy of Errors at the National Theatre, and A Midsummer Night's Dream in the BBC prom 48 in 2016. Last year she starred in the title role of Robert Hastie's Henry V at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.

5. Shakespeare's Globe

Terry's relationship with the Globe started in 2007 when she starred alongside a recently graduated Gemma Arterton in Love's Labour's Lost. Further credits at the Bankside venue include Titania/Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night's Dream (2013), and Rosalind in As You Like It (2015). She directed Richard III, King John and As You Like It for The Complete Walk – a series of short films created as part of the Globe's celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death in 2016.

6. Other stage credits

Other stage roles include The War on Terror and 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover at the Bush Theatre; The Man Who Had All the Luck and Privacy at the Donmar Warehouse; Tribes and In The Republic of Happiness at the Royal Court; London Assurance, England People Very Nice and Cleansed at the National Theatre; Light Shining in Buckinghamshire at the Arcola Theatre and Before the Party at the Almeida Theatre.

7. Awards

For her portrayal of Sylvia in the Royal Court production of Nina Raine's Tribes, Terry won the 2011 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2008 she won Best Actress in a Visiting Production at the Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards for the Donmar Warehouse production of The Man Who Had All the Luck.

8. Work for TV

Terry's screen credits include Extras, Law & Order: UK and the pilot of Mike Bullen's Reunited. With Ralf Little she co-wrote and starred in the comedy drama TV series, The Cafe, which aired on Sky1 from 2011 to 2013.

9. Terry on the Globe

Talking to The Stage last year, Terry said: "I love the Globe. There’s something about the conversation you have with the audience there – it’s always about them."

She continued: "[The Globe] taught me more about performing Shakespeare than anything else… It’s a place unlike any other, the appetite, the energy. The audience are standing in the sun for three hours and they’re so hungry. The dynamic between you and them is so alive. They might be moving around or distracted by pigeons or planes. It’s not just about you. As with all theatre, it’s about community."

10. Industry reactions

Less than an hour after the announcement 'Michelle Terry' was top of the trending topics on Twitter in the UK. Here are some of the reactions from industry figures: