Michelle Terry to Step Down as Artistic Director of Shakespeare's Globe

Michelle Terry will be stepping down as Artistic Director of the Globe at the end of 2027. As part of her final summer season, she will be returning to the Globe stage to play one of theatre's most iconic female roles, Mother Courage, described as 'a service to the public and to the theatrical canon' (The Standard) and 'a brave piece of programming that reaffirms Terry's inspired leadership as an actor and artistic director' (Arts Desk).

2027 marks 10 years of Michelle Terry's tenure as Artistic Director, 20 years of her acting on the Globe stages, and 30 years since The Globe Theatre was opened.

Her tenure has been defined by inclusion and representation, driven by The Globe's vision to make Shakespeare and The Globe available and accessible for all. Everything has been curated and created with the art, artists and audience in mind, in the hope of expanding who Theatre, Shakespeare and The Globe are for.

Across her tenure, over 2,000 actors will have been hired to work with the Globe. Despite a break in covid closures, the 77 productions across her tenure will have been seen by over 2.3 million people and rising, with audiences visiting from over 190 countries. Over the past few years, 91% of audiences have given 4 or 5-star reviews and the purchases of access tickets have more than doubled in the last five years.

New writing has remained at the heart of the Globe, with Michelle commissioning 25 new plays, 63% of these written by women and 26% by global majority writers. It began with Emilia, conceived and commissioned by Michelle Terry, written by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, it transferred from Shakespeare's Globe to the West End's Vaudeville Theatre in 2019. Dubbed 'This is a landmark moment in the history of Shakespeare's Globe.' (The Independent), it received 3 Olivier Awards in 2020 (including Best Entertainment or Comedy Play) and hosted West End history's first baby-friendly performance (Let Them Roar). The Globe Theatre remains baby friendly for all performances. This was followed by groundbreaking productions like After Edward, I, Joan, Metamorphoses, Hakawatis, Princess Essex, and Deep Azure, and the inaugural Climate Playwrighting Prize in 2026.

Michelle introduced the wider western canon into the Globe spaces, with Ibsen's Ghosts, Miller's The Crucible, Brecht's Mother Courage, Chekhov's Three Sisters, and the upcoming production of The Seagull.

A key focus across her tenure has been increasing access into the worlds and works of Shakespeare for the young and young at heart. The Globe Theatre is now a fixture in the festive calendar with The Snow Globe, The Fir Tree, Hansel & Gretel, and Pinocchio, and she has also introduced hugely successful partnerships with creative artists beyond the Globe. From the current sold-out MakeBeth (created by award-winning playwright Hannah Khalil and brought to life entirely with the recycled cardboard magic of designer Sam Wilde), to very young children enjoying the Globe space with the BBC's CBeebies Twelfth Night, and BAFTA award-winning CBeebies As You Like It (2025's TV BAFTA for Children's Scripted).

She has created innovative and extraordinary events and unique productions. She has expanded the visiting artists and events programme with over 63,000 people attending talks, music and comedy gigs, one-off shows. She has created key co-productions, partnerships and relationships and continued to expand the reach of The Globe's work beyond Bankside, both on tour and on screen. With artist development in mind, she has ensured the professional development and support of the unamplified voice, for all productions, a practical approach to Shakespeare's language is provided for all productions, and she has created both resident writers and resident directors' programmes to ensure the bespoke understanding of creating work for these spaces is nurtured.

Michelle has programmed the most famous of Shakespeare's plays, whilst enlivening the two theatre spaces with lesser-known jewels. Hundreds of thousands of £5 tickets have been bought by audiences, with this unique ticket price making the Globe accessible to all since 1997, championed by the organisation for 30 years.

Whilst Artistic Director, Michelle has played: Adam and William in As You Like It, Biondello in The Taming of the Shrew, Cordelia and the Fool in King Lear, Hamlet in Hamlet, Hotspur in Henry IV Part 1, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Mother Courage in Mother Courage and her Children, Olga in Three Sisters, Olivia in Twelfth Night Cue Script, Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard III in Richard III, Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream Cue Script, Viola in Twelfth Night. She directed The Fir Tree in The Globe Theatre and done extensive script dramaturgy across her tenure.