Diana Devlin (1 April 1941 - 27 September 2020) was a London based teacher, author and theatre academic who helped to create the

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse first built in 1599 for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays. Like the original, it is located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Southwark, Lon ...

theatre with her associate

Sam Wanamaker Samuel Wanamaker (born Samuel Wattenmacker; June 14, 1919 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director, whose career on stage and in film and television spanned five decades. He began his career on Broadway theatre, Broadway, but sp ...

Life

Devlin was born in

Porthmadog Porthmadog (), originally Portmadoc until 1972 and known locally as "Port", is a coastal town and community (Wales), community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd, Wales, and the historic counties of Wales, historic county of Caernarfonshire. It li ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

on 1 April 1941. She studied at Beaufort House primary school in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, and then at Carlyle grammar school in Chelsea, where she was head girl at the school. In 1960, she attended

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and obtained a second-class degree in English Literature. During her time at Cambridge she became close friends with the actress

Miriam Margolyes Miriam Margolyes ( ; born 18 May 1941) is a British and Australian actress. Known for her work as a character actor across film, television, and stage, she received the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs. Mingott in Marti ...

. She married the actor Will Graham in 1968 but they divorced a few years later. After attending Cambridge, she was awarded a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

and subsequently gained a doctorate in theatre arts from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. After graduation, Devlin became a lecturer in drama at

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by ...

. Devlin was a key figure in the development of the Shakespeare's Globe theatre. This began with her running the theatre's first summer school, which took place in 1972. In 1985, she became the administrator of the theatre. In 1997, Devlin was appointed as a trustee of the theatre and would later act as the deputy chair of the council from 2013. In 1989, she married David Ogden but the marriage also ended in divorce. Between 1993 and 2013 she was the head of theatre studies at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

in London. Devlin died on 27 September 2020. The cause of death was

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Awards

In June 2019, she received the

Sam Wanamaker Award The Sam Wanamaker Award or Sam Wanamaker Prize is an award established in 1994 for pioneering work in Shakespearean theatre, usually given to individuals who have worked closely with Shakespeare's Globe or the Royal Shakespeare Company; the award ...

in recognition of her pioneering support of the Globe for 47 years.

Publications

* A Speaking Part: Lewis Casson and the Theatre of His Time, Hodder & Stoughton, 1982. * Mask and Scene: Introduction to a World View of Theatre, Scarecrow Press, 1989. * Sam Wanamaker: A Global Performer, Oberon Books, 2019. * The Casson Family in North Wales: A Story of Slate and More, Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devlin, Diana 1941 births 2020 deaths English theatre managers and producers British women theatre managers and producers Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge People from Porthmadog