Erica Whyman,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 27 October 1969) is an English theatre director who became deputy artistic director at the Royal Shakespeare Company in January 2013.

Background

Whyman was born in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa wate ...

, Yorkshire, but lived in Barnsley until aged eight, before her family moved to Surrey. She studied French and Philosophy at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and theatre with

Philippe Gaulier Philippe Gaulier (born in Paris, 4 March 1943) is a French master clown, pedagogue, and professor of theatre. He is the founder of École Philippe Gaulier, a prestigious French theatre school in Étampes, outside Paris. He studied under Jacques Lec ...

in Paris and then at the

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. ...

. Whyman was the Chief Executive at

Northern Stage Northern Stage is a regional non-profit LORT (League of Resident Theatres)-D professional theater company located in White River Junction, VT White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of H ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...

, from 2005–2012. In 2013, Whyman became deputy artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. In September 2021, she became acting artistic director of the RSC.

Personal life and honours

In 2013, she was appointed an

in the

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark th ...

List.New Year Honours 2013: full list of recipients https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/honours-list/9768920/New-Year-Honours-2013-full-list-of-recipients.html Retrieved 5/04/2013 She has a daughter, Ruby, with playwright

Richard Bean Richard Anthony Bean (born 11 June 1956) is an English playwright. Early years Born in East Kingston upon Hull, Hull, Bean was educated at Hull Grammar School, and then studied social psychology at Loughborough University, graduating with a 2: ...

Career

* 1997 – Awarded the John S Cohen Bursary for Directors at the

National Theatre Studio The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

* 1997–98 – Associate producer of

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as n ...

* 1998–2000 – Associate director of English Touring Theatre * 1999–2001 – Artistic director

Southwark Playhouse Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London, located between Borough and Elephant and Castle tube stations. History The Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson. They identified the need for a h ...

(Peter Brook Empty Space Award) * 2001–04 – Artistic director and chief executive of Gate Theatre * 2004–05 – Fellow of the Clore Leadership Programme in the first cohort * 2005–2012 – Chief executive of

Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne Northern Stage is a theatre and producing theatre company based in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is surrounded by Newcastle University's city centre campus on King's Walk, opposite the students' union building. It hosts various local, national and int ...

(TMA Award for Theatre Manager of the Year, 2012)

Northern Stage productions

* Son of Man (2006) * Ruby Moon (2007) * Our Friends in the North (2007) * A Christmas Carol (2007) * A Doll's House (2008) * Look Back in Anger (2009) * Hansel and Gretel (2008) * Oh What a Lovely War (2010, nominated for two TMA awards) * The Wind in the Willows (2010) * Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (2011) * The Glass Slipper (2011) * Oh, The Humanity (2012) * The Borrowers (2012)

Royal Shakespeare Company productions

* The Christmas Truce (2014) * Hecuba (2015) * A Midsummer Night's Dream: A Play for the Nation (2016) * The Seven Acts of Mercy (2016) * The Earthworks (2017) * Romeo and Juliet (2018) * Miss Littlewood (2018) *

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some cri ...

, broadcast on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

(2021)

Other productions

* The Winter's Tale (2000, Southwark Playhouse) * Les Justes (2001, Gate Theatre) * Witness (Gate Theatre, 2002) * Marieluise (Gate Theatre, 2004) * The Flu Season (Gate Theatre, 2003) * The Shadow of a Boy (National Theatre, 2002) * The Birthday Party (Sheffield Crucible, 2002)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whyman, Erica 1969 births Living people Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School English theatre directors Royal Shakespeare Company members Officers of the Order of the British Empire