Shakespeare’s Globe announces Dominic Dromgoole’s final season as
Artistic Director
Thursday 28 May 2015



Dominic Dromgoole’s final season as Artistic Director
For the first time, the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse will host Shakespeare as part
of the main season: Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest
Eileen Atkins returning with her critically-acclaimed Ellen Terry with Eileen
Atkins
Shakespeare’s Globe is delighted to announce Dominic Dromgoole’s final season as Artistic
Director. For the first time, the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse will host Shakespeare as part of
the main season. Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest will play in the
candlelit indoor theatre between November 2015 and April 2016. Multi award-winning actress
Eileen Atkins will also return with her critically-acclaimed Ellen Terry with Eileen Atkins in
January and February 2016.
These four plays, written by Shakespeare to exploit the potential of the Blackfriars, the indoor
playhouse his company made their winter home in 1609, share a host of thematic links and a
delight in using the technical and imaginative possibilities of the indoor theatres.
Opening the season of candlelit Shakespeares on 19 November, Pericles sets out an
adventurous tale of the heroic Pericles’ escape from assassination on discovering incest at
the heart of the Kingdom of Antioch. Pericles harks back to some of Shakespeare’s earlier
work, with a plot fuelled by mistaken identity and families fragmented by shipwrecks.
From 2 December, Cymbeline charts the virtuous Imogen, daughter of the British king
Cymbeline, journeying from England to Wales disguised as a boy, in search of her lowborn
and exiled husband, Posthumus. The eclectic plot sees Imogen’s struggle to maintain
integrity throughout the play to its eventual romantic resolution.
Running from 28 January to 22 April, The Winter’s Tale tells of how King Leontes loses his
wife and newborn daughter through his furious yet baseless jealousy. A long journey through
time and across borders eventually effects an astonishing and redemptive resolution.
Boasting the most famous stage direction in history, ‘Exit, pursued by a bear’, this is one of
Shakespeare’s most imaginative, troubling and delightful plays.
The Tempest will be directed by Dominic Dromgoole. Running from 17 February, it will be
his final production as Artistic Director. Prior to his appointment in 2006, Dominic was Artistic
Director of the Bush Theatre, Director of New Writing at the Old Vic and Artistic Director of
the Oxford Stage Company (now Headlong). The upcoming Measure for Measure (opening
20 June) will be his final show for the Globe Theatre. Taking place on a deserted island
populated by the spirits and witches, as well as the banished duke Prospero and his
effervescent daughter Miranda, The Tempest is considered by many to be Shakespeare’s
personal farewell to the stage.
From 11 January, Dame Eileen Atkins returns to the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse with her
much-celebrated Ellen Terry with Eileen Atkins. Having offered the first performance of
Shakespeare in the Playhouse, she will once again take to the stage to perform her
adaptation of Ellen Terry’s Four Lectures on Shakespeare. Dubbed a ‘remarkable evening’
by The Guardian, the adaptation created by Eileen sees her perform a dozen parts – from
Viola to Volumnia. Her extensive credits for film and television include Cranford, for which
she won both a BAFTA and an Emmy, Upstairs, Downstairs and Gosford Park. Her most
recent stage appearance was the lead role in the RSC’s The Witch of Edmonton, and her
other stage credits include Mrs Rooney in a critically-acclaimed production of Beckett’s All
That Fall with Michael Gambon at the Jermyn Street Theatre, and subsequently in the West
End.
EDITORS’ NOTES
Booking
16 June: Priority Booking opens for Friends & Patrons of Shakespeare’s Globe
6 July: Public Booking opens
Full listings
Pericles by William Shakespeare & George Wilkins
19 November – 21 April
Press Night: 25 November
Cymbeline by William Shakespeare
2 December – 21 April
Press Night: 8 December
The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare
28 January – 22 April
Press Night: 4 February
The Tempest by William Shakespeare
17 February – 22 April
Press Night: 26 February
Directed by Dominic Dromgoole
Ellen Terry with Eileen Atkins
Monday 11 January
Thursday 14 January
Monday 18 January
Thursday 21 January
Sunday 24 January
Sunday 31 January
Tuesday 2 February
Friday 5 February
Sunday 7 February
Monday 8 February
Wednesday 10 February
Saturday 13 February
Shakespeare’s Globe
Booking:
Phone
+44 (0) 20 7401 9919
In person
Mon-Sat 10am-6pm (8pm on performance days)
Sundays
10am-5pm (7pm on performance days)
Online
www.shakespearesglobe.com
Tickets
£5 - £43 (Globe Theatre) £10 - £60 (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse)
For more information please contact Emma Draper or Claudia Conway on +44 (0) 207 902 1491 /
1492 or email [email protected] / [email protected]









The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse: The candlelit Jacobean theatre at Shakespeare's Globe
opened in January 2014. The Playhouse hosts concerts and other events throughout the summer,
with the main indoor theatre season running October to April.
Globe Education: One of the largest arts education departments in the UK; each year, over
100,000 people of all ages and nationalities participate in its public events, workshops and
courses. Globe Education also runs extensive outreach programmes for students and teachers in
the Southwark community, nationally and internationally.
Globe Exhibition & Tour: Open to the public all year round, the Globe Exhibition and Tour
explores the life of Shakespeare, the London where he lived, and the theatre for which he wrote.
Globe On Tour: The Globe’s productions tour extensively in the UK and internationally. Current
and forthcoming tours include: Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo & Juliet, King John and a
production of Hamlet that is travelling to every country in the world.
Globe Player: A brand new online platform offering full-length HD films of over 50 Shakespeare
productions at the Globe to rent or buy.
Globe On Screen: Shakespeare’s Globe returns to cinemas in early 2015, bringing 2014’s
season of triumphs to cinemas worldwide. Globe On Screen 2015 features The Duchess of Malfi,
Titus Andronicus, Antony and Cleopatra, Julius Caesar and The Comedy of Errors, all captured
‘live’ in high definition.
Globe Shop: Stocks a variety of products, including theatre season-specific merchandise. All
profits go towards supporting our educational mission.
The Swan Bar and Restaurant and the Foyer Café Bar: Open all year round, for reservations
and more information please call 020 7928 9444 or visit loveswan.co.uk
The Shakespeare Globe Trust: Registered UK charity No. 266916. Shakespeare’s Globe
receives no regular public subsidy.