Sir Gregory Doran (born 24 November 1958)[1] is an English director known for his Shakespearean work. The Sunday Times called him 'one of the great Shakespearians of his generation'.[2]
Doran was artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), succeeding Michael Boyd in September 2012. In an interview, announcing his appointment, Doran said that whilst Boyd had concentrated on the 'Company', he would be concentrating on the 'Shakespeare' in the Royal Shakespeare Company logo.[3] Since April 2022 he is director emeritus at the Royal Shakespeare Company.[4]
Doran was born in Huddersfield, but his family moved to Lancashire when he was six months old.[7] He was educated at St Pius X Catholic Preparatory School and Preston Catholic College.[8]
He attended Bristol University studying English and Drama, where he set up his own theatre company with fellow student Chris Grady, presenting Shakespeare and related classics. He then trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
He received an honorary doctorate from Bristol University in July 2011[9] and an Honorary Degree from the University of Warwick in July 2013.[10]
In 1995 he directed his partner Antony Sher in the lead role of Titus Andronicus at the Market Theatre, Johannesburg, South Africa. This controversial production, which toured to the National Theatre, is the subject of their book, Woza Shakespeare!
He returned to the RSC in 1996, becoming an Associate Director, and directing Jane Lapotaire, Ian Hogg and Paul Jesson in All is True (or Henry VIII), his first Shakespeare for the company. Since then, Doran has directed over half of Shakespeare's plays for the RSC.
Doran took compassionate leave from his role at the RSC in September 2021 to care for his husband, Antony Sher, who was terminally ill. His deputy, Erica Whyman, became acting artistic director.[12] The RSC announced Doran was formally stepping down as artistic director in April 2022, becoming artistic director emeritus until the end of 2023.[4]
TV and booksedit
Doran contributed to Michael Wood's BBC series In Search of Shakespeare, and filmed a documentary for BBC Four, called A Midsummer Night's Dreaming.
In 2009, Doran's Shakespeare Almanac was published.[13][14]
Personal lifeedit
He and frequent collaborator Sir Antony Sher had, when they entered into a civil partnership in 2005, been together since 1987.[15] They married 10 years after their civil partnership, on 30 December 2015. Sher died in December 2021.[16][17]
^"RSC director Greg Doran's Preston drama days". Preston Playhouse web site. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
^The Shakespeare Almanac. Hutchinson. October 2009. ISBN 9780091926199. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
^"Interview with Gregory Doran". The Royal Shakespeare Company website. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
^ abMurray, Jessica (22 April 2022). "Gregory Doran to step down after a decade as artistic director at RSC". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
^
"Who's Who in British Theatre: Gregory Doran". The Guardian. London. 6 July 2002. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
^"Warwick honorary degrees for stars of Gavin & Stacey & Hustle, RSC & Royal Court Artistic Directors, scientists, historians, philanthropist & a US government adviser". www2.warwick.ac.uk.
^ ab"Stratfordians". Archived from the original on 18 September 2004. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
^Wiegand, Chris (10 September 2021). "Gregory Doran takes leave from RSC to care for terminally ill Antony Sher". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
^"Ten things you didn't know about Shakespeare". The Sunday Times (website only accessible to subscribers). 9 October 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
^"In the paper". The Stage. 29 October 2009. Archived from the original on 13 April 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
^"The art of darkness". The Times. 30 August 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
^"Antony Sher, celebrated actor on stage and screen, dies aged 72". The Guardian. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
^"Obituary: Sir Antony Sher, a giant of the stage". BBC News. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
^Taylor, Paul (25 August 1999). "First night Timon teams with a wealth of ideas". The Independent. London. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
^"Olivier Winners 2003". Official London Theatre Guide website. 25 April 2008. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
^"Review: The Taming of the Shrew / The Tamer Tamed – Michael Billington". Guardian. London. 11 April 2003. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
^"Review: All's Well That Ends Well – Alastair Macaulay". Financial Times. 2003. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
^Koenig, Rhoda (2004). "Othello, Swan Theatre, Stratford". The Independent. London. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
^"Gregory Doran to finally direct 36th play from Shakespeare's First Folio – for student production". The Guardian. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
External linksedit
"Who's Who in British Theatre: Gregory Doran". The Guardian. London. 6 July 2002. Retrieved 29 October 2008.