For the British Royal Navy officer and horologist, see Rupert Gould.
Rupert Goold
Birth date18 February 1972 (age 54)
Birth placeHighgate, London, England
OccupationTheatre director
SpouseKate Fleetwood (m. 2001)
Years active1995–present
EducationTrinity College, Cambridge
New York University

Rupert Goold (born 18 February 1972)[1] is an English director who works primarily in theatre. He is the artistic director of the Almeida Theatre, and was the artistic director of Headlong Theatre Company (2005–2013).[2] Since 2010, Goold has been an associate director at the Royal Shakespeare Company.[3] He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2017 for services to drama.[4]

Goold is known for his extensive work in theatre. For his work in the West End he won two Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Director for Macbeth (2008) and Enron (2010). He was Olivier-nominated for King Charles III (2015), Ink (2018), and Dear England (2024). He received Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play nominations for King Charles III (2016) and Ink (2019). He made his directorial film debut with True Story (2015).[5]

Life and career

Early years and education

Goold was born in Highgate, England, a suburb of north London. His father was a management consultant, and his mother was an author of children's books.[6] He attended the independent University College School,[7] graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1994 with a First in English literature and studied performance studies at New York University on a Fulbright Scholarship. He was trainee director at Donmar Warehouse for the 1995 season, and assisted on productions including 'Art' and Speed-the-Plow in the West End.[citation needed]

Career

Goold was artistic director of the Royal and Derngate Theatres in Northampton from 2000 to 2005. Prior to that, he was an associate at the Salisbury Playhouse in 1996–97. In addition to his work as a director he has co-authored three adaptations for the stage. Goold directed Sir Patrick Stewart (whom he had previously directed as Prospero, and later in Richard II) as Macbeth in his acclaimed Minerva Studio staging of Macbeth at the Chichester Festival Theatre in May 2007.[8]

In September 2007, the production transferred to the Gielgud Theatre in London, then the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York and then to the Lyceum Theater on Broadway. At the 2007 Evening Standard Theatre Awards, Macbeth won two awards: Stewart won the Best Actor Award, while Goold won The Sydney Edwards Award for Best Director.[9] It also won Goold a 2008 Olivier Award for Best Director. He says he was not concerned with thoughts of a career anti-climax. "I came home to an empty house after the Olivier Awards, clutching my trophy for Best Director and I realised that I'd peaked. It was now going to be downhill all the way. But I still felt quite comfortable with the realisation that nothing could get better after this."[10] He later directed a 2010 BBC 4 television film version of Macbeth using Soviet-era Russian-type uniforms and weapons.[11]

In 2008, he directed the UK premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis's The Last Days of Judas Iscariot and a radical re-interpretation of Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author at the Chichester Festival which he co-authored with Ben Power. This production subsequently transferred to the West End and toured the UK and later Australia. In 2009 he directed a hugely acclaimed West End revival of Lionel Bart's Oliver! Produced by Cameron Mackintosh, Goold recreated Sam Mendes' direction for the London Palladium production, which was nominated for three Olivier Awards.[12] In 2009, Goold directed a revival of Shakespeare's King Lear at the Young Vic. Goold set his Lear in Northern England during the 1970s, and approached the play with a drastically different view, and as a result this production received mixed reviews. In 2009, he again won Best Director at the Evening Standard Awards for ENRON.[13] His opera credits include productions at Batignano Opera Festival and Garsington.[14]

In the following years he directed a string of plays for the Almeida Theatre, which include the musical American Psycho (2013), the new play King Charles III (2014), the revivals Medea (2015) and Richard III (2016), as well as the new play Ink (2017).[15] Goold returned to Broadway with the transfer of King Charles III. He earned a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play.[16] The following year he directed the musical transfer, American Psycho based on the 1991 novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis.[17] In 2019 he directed the Broadway transfer for the James Graham play Ink about the rise of Rupert Murdoch which ran at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Goold received his second nomination for the Tony Award for Best Direction.[18] That same year he directed the Almeida Theatre production of The Hunt (2019) starring Tobias Menzies by David Farr which was based on the 2012 film of the same name directed Thomas Vinterberg.[19] In 2021 he directed the musical revival of Spring Awakening on the West End.[20]

In 2022 he directed the Peter Morgan play Patriots about the rise of Vladimir Putin[21] and the Elton John musical Tammy Faye about the American evangelist Tammy Faye Messner.[22] The following year he directed the play Dear England about the England football manager Gareth Southgate[23] and Cold War a musical based on the 2018 film of the same name directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, the former of which earned Goold a nomination for the Olivier Award for Best Director.[24] In 2024 he directed the New York transfer of The Hunt which ran at St. Ann's Warehouse.[25]

In February 2025, Goold directed William Shakespeare's Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company starring Luke Thallon, Jared Harris, Nancy Carroll, Elliot Levey and Anton Lesser. The production will also tour the UK in 2026. It is the second production of the play that Goold has directed following his 2005 production at the Royal & Derngate.

On 24 November 2024, Goold was named as the next artistic director of The Old Vic taking over from Matthew Warchus in September 2026.[26]

Personal life

Goold is married to actress Kate Fleetwood.[27] The couple met while working together on a production of Romeo and Juliet. They have one son, Raphael, and a daughter, Constance.[6]

Works

Theatre

Directing
NameYearTheatreRef.
Travels with My Aunt1997Salisbury Playhouse / UK Tourrowspan=24
The End of the Affair1997Salisbury Playhouse / Bridewell Theatre
Romeo and Juliet1998UK Tour
Dancing at Lughnasa1998Salisbury Playhouse
Summer Lightning1998Salisbury Playhouse
Habeas Corpus1999Salisbury Playhouse
The Colonel Bird1999Gate Theatre
Broken Glass1999Salisbury Playhouse/ Watford Palace Theatre
Gone To LA2000Hampstead Theatre
Privates on Parade2001New Vic Theatre
Scaramouche Jones2001International Tour
The Wind in the Willows2001Birmingham Rep
Arcadia2002Northampton
Betrayal2002Northampton
Waiting for Godot/ The Weir2003Northampton
Sunday Father2003Hampstead Theatre
Othello2003Northampton/ Greenwich Theatre
Insignificance2004Northampton
Summer Lightning2004Northampton
Hamlet2005Northampton
Speaking Like Magpies2005RSC
The Tempest2006RSC
Restoration2006Headlong/ Bristol Old Vic: UK Tour
Faustus2006Headlong/ Hampstead Theatre
The Glass Menagerie2007Apollo Theatre[28]
Macbeth2007Chichester Festival Theatre/ West End/ NYCrowspan=11
Rough Crossings2007Headlong: Lyric Hammersmith/ Birmingham Rep, Liverpool Everyman/ WYP
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot2008Headlong: Almeida Theatre
Six Characters in Search of an Author2008Headlong: Chichester / West End
No Man's Land2008Gate Theatre, Dublin/West End
King Lear2008Headlong: Liverpool Everyman/Young Vic
Oliver!2009Theatre Royal Drury Lane
ENRON2009Minerva Theatre / Royal Court Theatre
Romeo and Juliet2010RSC
Earthquakes in London2010National Theatre
The Merchant of Venice2011RSC;
2014Almeida Theatre[29]
Decade2011Headlongrowspan=4
The Effect2012National Theatre
American Psycho2013Almeida Theatre
King Charles III2014Almeida Theatre
Made in Dagenham2014Adelphi Theatre[30]
Medea2015Almeida Theatrerowspan=1
Richard III2016Almeida Theatre[31]
Albion2017Almeida Theatre[1]
Ink2017Almeida Theatre[32]
Duke of York's Theatre[33]
2019Samuel J. Friedman Theatre[34]
Shipwreck2019Almeida Theatre[35]
The Hunt2019Almeida Theatre[36]
2024St. Ann's Warehouse[37]
Spring Awakening2021Almeida Theatre[38]
The 47th2022The Old Vicrowspan=7
Patriots2022Almeida Theatre
2023Noël Coward Theatre
Tammy Faye2022Almeida Theatre
2024Palace Theatre, Broadway)
Women, Beware the Devil2023Almeida Theatre
Dear England2023National Theatre
Cold War2023Almeida Theatre[39]
Hamlet2025RSCrowspan=1
Writing
  • The End of the Affair (1997) – a play with music, adapted with Caroline Butler, from the novel by Graham Greene. The first production included music played by a pianist at the side of the stage, underscoring the text with some period songs sung by the cast. Goold and Butler removed the music from later productions and the play was published without musical interpolation in 2001.[40]
  • Faustus (2004) – adapted with Ben Power from Dr Faustus by Christopher Marlowe
  • Six Characters in Search of an Author (2008) – adapted with Ben Power from the play by Luigi Pirandello

Film and television

Directing

Award and nominations

AwardYearCategoryNominated workResultRef.
British Academy Television Award2013Best Single DramaThe Hollow Crown: Richard II[41]
2018King Charles III[42]
Laurence Olivier Award2008Best DirectorMacbeth[43]
2010Enron[44]
2015King Charles III[45]
2018Ink[46]
2024Dear England[47]
Tony Awards2016Best Direction of a PlayKing Charles III[48]
2019Ink[49]

References

  1. ^ "Birthdays", The Guardian, 18 February 2014, p. 37
  2. ^ Matt Trueman (8 February 2013). "Rupert Goold named as Almeida theatre's new artistic director". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  3. ^ rsc.org.uk Archived 2 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ No. 61803. 31 December 2016. p. N9.
  5. ^ Goodykoontz, Bill (April 15, 2015). "Rupert Goold tells 'True Story' in directing debut". AZ Central. USA Today Network. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  6. ^ Emma John (28 September 2008). "Going for Goold". The Observer. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
  7. ^ "Interview with Alan Franks". Alanfranks.com. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  8. ^ Cavendish, Dominic (16 July 2007). "Shakespeare is coursing through me". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  9. ^ "Winning performances on the West End stage". This Is London.co.uk. 28 November 2007. Archived 30 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  10. ^ Al Senter. "Rupert Goold profile". Director magazine. Archived from the original on 28 Aug 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  11. ^ "Macbeth with Sir Patrick Stewart: The Scottish play from stage to TV". BBC. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  12. ^ "Laurence Olivier Theatre Awards 2010 Winners Announced". londontheatre.co.uk. June 8, 2016.
  13. ^ "Winners of Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2009". Standard.co.uk. 10 April 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  14. ^ Billington, Michael (12 October 2009). "Does Rupert Goold's Turandot really show him up?". The Guardian. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  15. ^ "Rupert Goold Theatre Credits". abouttheartists. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  16. ^ "King Charles III". The Hollywood Reporter. 12 June 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  17. ^ "American Psycho (Broadway, 2016)". Playbill. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  18. ^ "Ink (Broadway, 2019)". Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  19. ^ "The Hunt at the Almeida Theatre". aboutheartists. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  20. ^ "Spring Awakening at the Almeida Theatre". March 18, 2024
  21. ^ "Patriots at Almeida Theatre". abouttheartists. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  22. ^ "Tammy Faye". abouttheartists. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  23. ^ "Dear England". Abouttheartists. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  24. ^ "Cold War". Almeida Theatre. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  25. ^ "The Hunt at St. Ann's Warehouse". abouttheartists. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  26. ^ Bakare, Lanre; Arts, Lanre Bakare; correspondent, culture (2024-11-27). "Rupert Goold named as next artistic director of Old Vic". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
  27. ^ "The Tatler List > Rupert Goold". Tatler. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012.
  28. ^ John Thaxter (14 February 2007). "The Stage / Reviews / The Glass Menagerie". Thestage.co.uk. Archived 6 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  29. ^ "The Merchant of Venice". Almeida Theatre. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  30. ^ "Gemma Arterton to star in Made in Dagenham musical". BBC. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  31. ^ "2016/7 Season". Almeida Theatre
  32. ^ "Ink". Almeida Theatre. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  33. ^ "Ink". Almeida Theatre. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  34. ^ "Rupert Murdoch Story 'Ink' Sets Broadway Bow at Manhattan Theatre Club". 30 April 2018.
  35. ^ "Shipwreck". Almeida Theatre. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  36. ^ "The Hunt (London, 2019)". Playbill. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  37. ^ "The Hunt". St. Ann's Warehouse. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  38. ^ "Spring Awakening". Almeida Theatre. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  39. ^ "Cold War". Almeida Theatre. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  40. ^ Goold, Rupert (2001). The End of the Affair by Graham Greene, Adapted for the stage by Rupert Goold and Caroline Butler. London: Samuel French Ltd. ISBN 0-573-01886-3.
  41. ^ "TV Baftas 2013: all the winners". Guardian UK. 12 May 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  42. ^ Lanre Bakare (May 13, 2018). "Bafta TV awards 2018: full list of winners". theguardian.com
  43. ^ "Olivier Winners 2008". officiallondontheatre.com. Society of London Theatre. Archived 2021-10-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  44. ^ "Olivier Winners 2010". officiallondontheatre.com. Society of London Theatre. Archived 2021-10-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  45. ^ "Olivier Winners 2015". officiallondontheatre.com. Society of London Theatre. Archived 2021-10-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  46. ^ "Olivier Winners 2018". officiallondontheatre.com. Society of London Theatre. Archived 2021-10-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  47. ^ "Olivier Winners 2024". officiallondontheatre.com. Society of London Theatre. Archived 2021-10-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  48. ^ "King Charles III (Broadway, 2015)". Playbill. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  49. ^ "Ink (Broadway, 2018)". Playbill. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  • Profile Archived 18 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine at Headlong's Official site.