Emma Rice has been blazing trails throughout her short tenure as artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe. Per the New York Times, Rice has been open about her mixed feelings about Shakespeare’s works, and has mounted “several tweaked updates of Shakespeare’s plays, including ‘Imogen,’ a version of ‘Cymbeline’ that reimagined the work as a female-driven play.” Unfortunately, it seems that one barrier Rice couldn’t break was the sexism she met as a leader and an artist.
In an open letter to her not-yet-chosen successor, Rice discusses her passion for her work, the limits she faced, and her ultimate decision to leave the Globe after this season. “I chose to leave because, as important and beloved as the Globe is to me, the Board did not love and respect me back,” she explains. “It did not understand what I saw, what I felt, and what I created with my actors, creative teams, and the audience. They began to talk of a new set of rules that I did not sign up to and could not stand by.”
More than anything, Rice seems to be rightfully refusing to abide by standards she had no part in creating. She states firmly in her letter: “I have learnt, never again, to allow myself to be excluded from the rooms where decisions are made.”
The artistic director does not go into specifics, but most working women will easily understand Rice’s inference. We’re willing to bet that Rice had the audacity to voice her own opinion — even if it went against the Board’s — stood by it, and was punished for it.
As the Times notes, Rice’s decision to leave was announced after she and the Board clashed over the presence of technology in her plays. “The Globe, an open-air theater built in 1997, is a relatively loyal re-creation of the theater where many of Shakespeare’s works were originally performed,” the source summarizes. Many Globe execs feel strongly that artificial lights and other effects should be avoided as much as possible.
Rice maintains that her choice to leave the Globe is about more than technology. “Never think that my decision to step down in 2018 was simply about lights and sound,” she writes. “It was about personal trust and artistic freedom.” “You must make sure that your own freedom is assured,” she warns her successor.
Despite her differences with the Board and their lack of trust in her vision as artistic director, it is clear that Rice enjoyed — and enjoys — her role at the Globe and her colleagues.
“I have learnt to trust my team with my heart and soul,” she emphasizes. “They are true lovers and fighters, dedicated to a radical and relevant artistic mission, and loyal beyond belief. They will listen to you, help you, and support you and dance with you as they make real all your dreams. Take care of them for me.”
Rice joined the Globe in spring 2016 and will stay on until April 2018. You can read her entire letter here.
