Rupert Goold (born 18 February 1972) is an English director who works primarily in theatre. He is the artistic director of the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre is a 325-seat producing house located on Almeida Street off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre opened in 1980, and produces a diverse range of drama. Successful plays are often transferred to West E ...

, and was the artistic director of Headlong Theatre Company (2005–2013). Since 2010, Goold has been an associate director at the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

. He was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

for services to drama. 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 ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' (2008) and ''

Enron Enron Corporation was an American Energy development, energy, Commodity, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was led by Kenneth Lay and developed in 1985 via a merger between Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both re ...

'' (2010). He was Olivier-nominated for ''

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

'' (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).

Early years and education

Goold was born in

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

, England, a suburb of

north London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

. His father was a management consultant, and his mother was an author of children's books. He attended the independent University College School, graduated from

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, in 1994 with a First in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

and studied performance studies at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

on a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

. He was trainee director at

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

for the 1995 season, and assisted on productions including '' 'Art''' and '' Speed-the-Plow'' in the West End.

Career

Goold was artistic director of the Royal and Derngate Theatres in

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

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 Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...

(whom he had previously directed as Prospero, and later in Richard II) as Macbeth in his acclaimed Minerva Studio staging of ''

'' at the Chichester Festival Theatre in May 2007. In September 2007, the production transferred to the Gielgud Theatre in London, then the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a multi-arts center in Brooklyn, New York City. It hosts progressive and avant-garde performances, with theater, dance, music, opera, film programming across multiple nearby venues. BAM was chartered in 18 ...

, New York and then to the Lyceum Theater on Broadway. At the 2007 Evening Standard Theatre Awards, ''

'' won two awards: Stewart won the Best Actor Award, while Goold won The Sydney Edwards Award for Best Director. 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." He later directed a 2010 BBC 4 television film version of ''

'' using Soviet-era Russian-type uniforms and weapons. 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 Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was an English writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's "Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical ''Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his work ...

's '' Oliver!'' Produced by Cameron Mackintosh, Goold recreated

Sam Mendes Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was Knight Bachelor, knighted in the 2020 New Year Honours ...

' direction for the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

production, which was nominated for three Olivier Awards. In 2009, Goold directed a revival of Shakespeare's ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'' 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 Enron Corporation was an American Energy development, energy, Commodity, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was led by Kenneth Lay and developed in 1985 via a merger between Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both re ...

''. His opera credits include productions at Batignano Opera Festival and Garsington. In the following years he directed a string of plays for the

, which include the musical ''

American Psycho ''American Psycho'' is a black comedy horror novel by American writer Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the First-person narrative, first-person by Patrick Bateman, a wealthy, narcissistic, and vain Manhattan investmen ...

'' (2013), the new play ''

'' (2014), the revivals ''

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; ; ) is the daughter of Aeëtes, King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished "wiktionary:φαρμακεία, pharmakeía" (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high- ...

'' (2015) and ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'' (2016), as well as the new play '' Ink'' (2017). Goold returned to Broadway with the transfer of the play, ''

'' which he previously directed in the West End. He earned a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play. The following year he directed the musical transfer, ''

'' based on the 1991 novel of the same name by

Bret Easton Ellis Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author and screenwriter. Ellis was one of the literary Brat Pack (literary), Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique as a writer is the expression of extreme acts ...

. In 2019 he directed the Broadway transfer for the James Graham play '' Ink'' about the rise of

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...

which ran at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Goold received his second nomination for the Tony Award for Best Direction. That same year he directed the Almeida Theatre production of '' The Hunt'' (2019) starring

Tobias Menzies Tobias Simpson Menzies (born 7 March 1974) is an English actor. He is known for playing Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in the third and fourth seasons of the series ''The Crown'', for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding S ...

by David Farr which was based on the 2012 film of the same name directed Thomas Vinterberg. In 2021 he directed the musical revival of '' Spring Awakening'' on the West End. In 2022 he directed the Peter Morgan play '' Patriots'' about the rise of

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

and the

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

musical '' Tammy Faye'' about the American evangelist Tammy Faye Messner. The following year he directed the play '' Dear England'' about the England football manager

Gareth Southgate Sir Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional Association football, football manager and player, who played as a Defender (association football), defender and midfielder. A Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace Crystal ...

and ''Cold War'' a musical based on the 2018 film of the same name directed by

Paweł Pawlikowski Paweł Aleksander Pawlikowski (; born 15 September 1957) is a Polish filmmaker. He garnered early praise for a string of documentaries in the 1990s and for his award-winning feature films of the 2000s, '' Last Resort'' (2000) and '' My Summer of ...

, the former of which earned Goold a nomination for the Olivier Award for Best Director. In 2024 he directed the New York transfer of '' The Hunt'' which ran at St. Ann's Warehouse. In February 2025, Goold directed

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' for the

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 Matthew Warchus (born 24 October 1966) is an English theatre director, playwright, and filmmaker. He has been the Artistic Director of London's The Old Vic since September 2015. Early life and education Warchus grew up in Selby, North Yorkshir ...

in September 2026.

Personal life

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

Works

Theatre

; Directing * '' Travels with My Aunt'' (1997, Salisbury Playhouse / UK tour) * '' The End of the Affair'' (1997, Salisbury Playhouse / Bridewell Theatre) * ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' (1998, UK tour) * ''

Dancing at Lughnasa ''Dancing at Lughnasa'' is a 1990 play by dramatist Brian Friel set in County Donegal, Ireland in August 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg. It is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Evans, the narrator. He re ...

'' (1998, Salisbury Playhouse) * ''

Summer Lightning ''Summer Lightning'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 1 July 1929 by Doubleday (publisher), Doubleday, Doran, New York, under the title ''Fish Preferred'', and in the United Kingdom on 19 July 1929 by Her ...

'' (1998, Salisbury Playhouse) * ''

Habeas Corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

'' (1999, Salisbury Playhouse) * ''The Colonel Bird'' (1999,

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochla ...

) * '' Broken Glass'' (1999, Salisbury Playhouse/ Watford Palace Theatre) * ''Gone To LA'' (2000, Hampstead Theatre) * '' Privates on Parade'' (2001, New Vic Theatre) * ''Scaramouche Jones'' (2001, international tour) * ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and get ...

'' (2001, Birmingham Rep) * '' Arcadia'' (2002, Northampton) * '' Betrayal'' (2002, Northampton) * ''

Waiting for Godot ''Waiting for Godot'' ( or ) is a 1953 play by Irish writer and playwright Samuel Beckett, in which the two main characters, Vladimir (Waiting for Godot), Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), engage in a variety of discussions and encounters w ...

''/ '' The Weir'' (2003, Northampton) * ''Sunday Father'' (2003, Hampstead Theatre) * ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' (2003, Northampton/ Greenwich Theatre) * ''Insignificance'' (2004, Northampton) * ''

'' (2004, Northampton) * ''

'' (2005, Northampton) * ''Speaking Like Magpies'' (2005, RSC) * ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'' (2006, RSC) * ''Restoration'' (2006, Headlong/

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

: UK tour) * ''Faustus'' (2006, Headlong/ Hampstead Theatre) * '' The Glass Menagerie'' (2007, Apollo Theatre) * ''

'' (2007, Chichester Festival Theatre/ West End/ NYC) * '' Rough Crossings'' (2007, Headlong: Lyric Hammersmith/ Birmingham Rep, Liverpool Everyman/ WYP) * ''The Last Days of Judas Iscariot'' (2008, Headlong:

) * '' Six Characters in Search of an Author'' (2008, Headlong: Chichester / West End) * '' No Man's Land'' (2008, Gate Theatre, Dublin/West End) * ''

'' (2008, Headlong: Liverpool Everyman/ Young Vic) * '' Oliver!'' (2009, Theatre Royal Drury Lane) * ''

'' (2009, Minerva Theatre /

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

) * ''

'' (2010, RSC) * '' Earthquakes in London'' (2010, National Theatre) * '' The Merchant of Venice'' (2011 RSC; 2014 Almeida Theatre) * ''

Decade A decade (from , , ) is a period of 10 years. Decades may describe any 10-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement ...

'' (2011, Headlong) * ''The Effect'' (2012, National Theatre) * ''

'' (2013, Almeida Theatre) * ''

'' (2014, Almeida Theatre) * '' Made in Dagenham'' (2014, Adelphi Theatre) * ''

'' (2015, Almeida Theatre) * ''

'' (2016, Almeida Theatre) * ''Albion'' (2017, Almeida Theatr

* '' Ink'' (2017, Almeida Theatre / Duke of York's Theatre; 2019, Samuel J. Friedman Theatre) *''Shipwreck'' (2019, Almeida Theatre) * '' The Hunt'' (2019, Almeida Theatre; 2024, St. Ann's Warehouse) *'' Spring Awakening'' (2021, Almeida Theatre) *'' The 47th'' (2022, The Old Vic) *'' Patriots'' (2022, Almeida Theatre; 2023, Noël Coward Theatre) *'' Tammy Faye'' (2022, Almeida Theatre; 2024, Palace Theatre, Broadway) *''Women, Beware the Devil'' (2023, Almeida Theatre) *'' Dear England'' (2023, National Theatre) *''Cold War'' (2023, Almeida Theatre) *''

'' (2025, RSC) ; Writing * ''The End of the Affair'' (1997) – a play with music, adapted with Caroline Butler, from the novel by

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

. 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. * ''Faustus'' (2004) – adapted with Ben Power from '' Dr Faustus'' by

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...

* ''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' (2008) – adapted with Ben Power from the play by ''

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; ; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italians, Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his bold and ...

Film and television

; Directing * ''

'' (TV, 2010) * '' Richard II'' (TV, 2012) * '' True Story'' (2015) * ''

'' (TV, 2017) * '' Judy'' (2019)

Award and nominations

References

External links

*
Profile
at Headlong's Official site. {{DEFAULTSORT:Goold, Rupert 1972 births Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Critics' Circle Theatre Award winners English television directors English theatre directors Film directors from London Laurence Olivier Award winners Living people People educated at University College School People from Highgate Tisch School of the Arts alumni Shakespearean directors