| Emma Rice | |
| Birth Name: | Emma Juliet Rice |
| Birth Place: | Oxfordshire, England |
| Occupation: | Director, Actress, Writer |
| Known For: | Kneehigh Theatre, Shakespeare's Globe, Wise Children |
Emma Juliet Rice[1] (born August 1967) is a British actor, director and writer. Hailed as a fearless director, Rice's work includes theatrical adaptations of Brief Encounter, The Red Shoes and Wise Children. In 2022, Rice was named in the Sky Arts Top 50 most influential British artists.[2] Rice worked with Kneehigh Theatre in Cornwall for twenty years as an actor, director, then artistic director with co-artistic director, Mike Shepherd. She was the Artistic Director of Shakespeare's Globe from 2016 to 2018, before founding her own touring theatre company Wise Children.[3] [4]
Rice was born in Oxfordshire, England,[5] and grew up in Nottingham, where her mother was a social worker and her father was a lecturer in personnel management.[6] After studying English and Stage Design at Harrington College Rice went on to study acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.[7]
After graduating from Guildhall, Rice spent eight years working with Alibi Theatre, performing theatre that emphasised storytelling. Alongside touring the UK and performing to children and communities with Alibi, Rice developed her craft, training in Poland, with Gardzienice, a company founded by Włodzimierz Staniewski.
In 1994, Rice joined the Cornish theatre company, Kneehigh, as a performer.[8] After taking on increasing creative responsibilities,[9] Kneehigh Artistic directors Bill Mitchell and Mike Shepherd encouraged her to direct[10] and her first production, The Itch, was staged in 1999. As a director, Rice says that her long-running production of The Red Shoes represented the point in her career when she came into her own.[11] Rice went on to become the Artistic Director of Kneehigh, alongside Mike Shepherd, and under their stewardship Kneehigh produced a plethora of adaptations and original work, including Tristan and Yseult, The Bacchae and a 'seedy, dreamy' take on Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus.[12] While Rice's work did not always appease critics, Kneehigh's 'visually stunning, inventive, often subversive and unashamedly populist' shows toured in the UK and internationally.[9]
In 2015, it was announced that Rice would take over from Dominic Dromgoole as artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe,[13] with Rice applying for the role despite stating: "I have tried to sit down with Shakespeare but it doesn’t work... I get very sleepy and then suddenly I want to listen to The Archers."[14] After a summer season that included Rice's A Midsummer Night's Dream and 'exceptionally strong' box office returns,[15] it was announced in October 2016 that Rice would leave the Globe in April 2018. The announcement followed a decision by the theatre's board, which cited concerns over authenticity and her use of lighting technology[16] after she steadfastly refused to abide by the Globe's founding principles of “shared light" and non-amplified sound.[17] Previous Artistic Director Dominic Dromgoole disagreed with Rice's attempts to move away from this traditional "shared light" – in which the actors and audience are in the same light – which he said was "at the heart of her disagreements with colleagues and the board".[18] Her final Shakespeare production at the Globe was Twelfth Night, which received middling reviews,[19] [20] with the Arts Desk stating the production "ends up giving two fingers to Shakespeare, which rather makes the board’s case for them."[21]
In 2017, Rice announced her new touring theatre company, Wise Children. Standard Issue Magazine made her their woman of the year in 2016 for "her fearlessness, leadership, innovation and bravery".[22] Wise Children was accepted into Arts Council England’s group of regularly supported organisations and allocated annual funding of £475,000 from 2018. This was not without controversy however; Christy Romer, a journalist for Arts Professional, said that allowing Wise Children into the Arts Council’s national portfolio despite its lack of any track record "makes a mockery of the entire arts funding system".[23]
During the COVID-19 pandemic Rice's Wise Children live streamed a fully staged production to a global audience with their production of Romantics Anonymous which had been due to tour the US prior to the pandemic.[24] [25] [26] Alongside the live streams Rice also presents a podcast series looking behind the scenes of her work and process[27]
In 2021, Rice directed an adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights that toured at Bristol Old Vic and Theare Royal Brighton, receiving mixed[28] [29] [30] to positive[31] [32] [33] reviews from critics.
| The Itch[34] | 1999 | Director/Performer | Kneehigh Theatre | ||
| The Red Shoes | 2000 | Adapter/Director | Kneehigh Theatre | This production has had numerous revivals | |
| Cry Wolf | 2001 | Performer | Kneehigh Theatre | ||
| Pandora's Box | 2002 | Adapter/Performer/Director | Kneehigh Theatre | ||
| Tristan & Yseult[35] | 2003 | Adapter/Performer/Director | Kneehigh Theatre | This production has had numerous revivals | |
| The Wooden Frock | 2004 | Adapter/Performer/Director | Kneehigh Theatre | ||
| The Bacchae | 2005 | Adaptor/Director | Kneehigh Theatre | ||
| Nights At The Circus | 2006 | Adapter/Director | Kneehigh Theatre | ||
| Cymbeline[36] | 2006 | Director/Performer | Kneehigh Theatre | ||
| Rapunzel | 2006 | Director | Kneehigh Theatre | ||
| A Matter Of Life & Death | 2007 | Adapter/Director | National Theatre | ||
| Brief Encounter | 2007 | Adapter/Director | David Pugh/Kneehigh Theatre | This production has had numerous revivals | |
| Don John[37] | 2008 | Adapter/Director | Kneehigh Theatre/RSC | ||
| The Wild Bride | 2011 | Adapter/Director | Kneehigh Theatre | ||
| Midnight's Pumpkin | 2011 | Adapter/Director | Kneehigh Theatre | ||
| Steptoe & Son[38] | 2012 | Adapter/Director | Kneehigh Theatre | ||
| Rebecca[39] [40] | 2015 | Adapter/Director | David Pugh/Kneehigh Theatre | ||
| The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg[41] | 2011 | Director | |||
| Oedipussy[42] | 2012 | Director | SpyMonkey | ||
| The Empress[43] | 2013 | Director | RSC | A Play by Tanika Gupta | |
| The Flying Lovers Of Vitebsk | 2016 | Director | Kneehigh Theatre | Based on a play by Daniel Jamieson & Emma Rice (The Birthday)[44] | |
| 946 | 2017 | Adapter/Director | Kneehigh Theatre | Based on the book by Michael Morpurgo (The Story of Adolphus Tips)[45] | |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream[46] | 2016 | Director | Shakespeare's Globe | Also broadcast by the BBC[47] | |
| Wah Wah Girls[48] | 2015 | Director | Sadlers Wells | A Play by Tanika Gupta, music by Niraj Chag[49] | |
| Twelfth Night | 2017 | Director | Shakespeare's Globe | ||
| The Little Match Girl | 2017 | Director | Shakespeare's Globe | ||
| Romantics Anonymous | 2016 | Director | Shakespeare's Globe | Adapted and directed by Emma Rice with music by Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond | |
| Wise Children[50] | 2018 | Adapter/Director | Wise Children | A co-production with The Old Vic London, Bristol Old Vic & York Theatre Royal. Based on the novel by Angela Carter. This production was also filmed for cinema release and broadcast by the BBC.[51] | |
| Bagdad Cafe | 2021 | Adapter/Director | Wise Children | A co-production with The Old Vic London based on the film by Percy Adlon.[52] This production was also Live Streamed as part of the Old Vic In Camera series. | |
| Malory Towers | 2019 | Adapter/Director | Wise Children | Based on the books of Enid Blyton. A co-production with David Pugh | |
| Wuthering Heights | 2021 | Adapter/Director | Wise Children | Based on the novel by Emily Bronté. This production has been filmed for Sky Arts. | |
| Blue Beard | 2024 | Adapter/Director | Wise Children | A co-production with Birmingham Rep, HOME Manchester, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, and York Theatre Royal,[53] based on the French folktale. |