Dublin's Gate Theatre has announced that Selina Cartmell will be its new artistic director, taking over from Michael Colgan, who is retiring after 33 years in the role.
A Best Director award winner on three occasions, Cartmell's productions have been nominated for 35 awards, winning ten. She previously directed Catastrophe, Festen and Sweeney Todd at the Gate and will begin work alongside Colgan on January 1, 2017 ahead of his departure next April.
Cartmell, who is currently in rehearsals for Three Sisters at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, has described her new Gate role as "an honour" and spoke of her desire to "provoke artists into running an electrical current through classic and contemporary work".
A graduate of Drama and History of Art at Trinity College, Dublin, Cartmell received her Masters degree from the Central School of Speech and Drama at the University of London.
She now becomes just the fourth artistic director of the Gate in its 88-year history and she follows in the footsteps of both Colgan and the Gate's founders Michéal MacLiammóir and Hilton Edwards.
During Colgan's tenure the Gate became synonymous with staging works from Pinter and Beckett and he also attracted some well know actors to take roles in productions including Frances McDormand, Ralph Fiennes, Christopher Meloni and John Hurt.
Chairman of the Gate Theatre Mary Finan said the theatre's goal in finding a successor to Michael Colgan was to find someone whose imagination and flair would build on his successful tenure.
Cartmell's appointment comes at a time when the issue of gender imbalance in Irish theatre has been centre stage.
In August, the Abbey Theatre announced its new "guiding principles" on gender equality, which followed protests about the lack of female representation in Waking the Nation, the national theatre's programme of stage shows and events to mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising.
Just hearing that Selina Cartmell has been announced as the new Artistic Director of @GateTheatreDub. Congrats Selina!
— #WakingTheFeminists (@WTFeminists) October 14, 2016
Among the groups offering congratulations to Cartmell this afternoon was the lobby group Waking the Feminists which was set up to support the representation of women in Irish theatre in the wake of the Abbey controversy.
It said her appointment was an historic one for the Gate and one which demonstrates the exceptional female talent available in Irish theatre.
