Broadway and West End director Rupert Goold, currently represented on the Main Stem with Tammy Faye, will take the helm of London's Old Vic in spring 2026, succeeding current Artistic Director Matthew Warchus. Joining alongside Goold will be Olivier-winning Broadway and West End Cabaret director Rebecca Frecknall, who will serve in the new role of associate director.
Warchus will continue to program the theatre through the end of 2026, capping off an 11-year tenure with the company.
The move essentially shifts both Goold and Frecknall from their current positions at Almeida Theatre, where Broadway's Tammy Faye premiered in 2022. Warchus has served as that institution's artistic director since 2013, and Frecknall is currently associate director there as well.
Many of Goold's Almeida productions have crossed the pond to Broadway, including Patriots, King Charles III, and Ink. Goold also directed the Olivier-winning Dear England at London's National in 2023, and is at the helm of a forthcoming BBC miniseries adaptation of the James Graham play. Prior to his time at Almeida, Goold was artistic director of Headlong Theatre and was previously associate director for Royal Shakespeare Company.
"After 11 wonderful, demanding, and richly rewarding years at the Almeida I’ve decided to head across the river in search of a new challenge," says Goold in a statement. "It’s been the privilege of my life to have led the Almeida over the past decade. But I believe it’s important that our theatres are renewed through new leadership and that in turn can and should bring new artists and ideas into this unique space.
"I join The Old Vic with excitement and trepidation in following the extraordinary work of Matthew Warchus. I look forward to producing and making work on this storied stage and continuing my path as an artistic director alongside [Executive Director] Laura Stevenson. As a theatre maker who has always been interested in reaching as wide an audience as possible, I am deeply excited by the possibilities of this iconic theatre over the coming years.
"Rebecca Frecknall will be joining me on the move and so I hope all those who have enjoyed our work together will continue to see its evolution on The Cut."
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