Emma Rice


Emma Juliet Rice is a British actor, director and writer. Described 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. 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.

Early life

Rice was born in Oxfordshire, England, and grew up in Nottingham, where her mother was a social worker and her father was a lecturer in personnel management. After studying English and Stage Design at Harrington College Rice went on to study acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Career

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 trained in Poland, with Gardzienice, a company founded by Włodzimierz Staniewski.
In 1994, Rice joined the Cornish theatre company, Kneehigh, as a performer. After taking on increasing creative responsibilities, Kneehigh Artistic directors Bill Mitchell and Mike Shepherd encouraged her to direct 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. Rice went on to become the artistic director of Kneehigh, alongside Mike Shepherd, and under their leadership Kneehigh produced adaptations and original work, including Tristan and Yseult, The Bacchae and a 'seedy, dreamy' take on Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus. While Rice's work did not always please critics, Kneehigh's 'visually stunning, inventive, often subversive and unashamedly populist' shows toured in the UK and internationally.
In 2015, it was announced that Rice would take over from Dominic Dromgoole as artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe, 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." After a summer season that included Rice's A Midsummer Night's Dream and 'exceptionally strong' box office returns, 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 after she refused to adhere to the Globe's founding principles of “shared light" and non-amplified sound. Previous artistic director 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". Her final Shakespeare production at the Globe was Twelfth Night, which received middling reviews, with the Arts Desk stating the production "ends up giving two fingers to Shakespeare, which rather makes the board’s case for them."
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". 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; 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".
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rice's Wise Children livestreamed a fully-staged production to a global audience: their production of Romantics Anonymous which had been due to tour the US before the pandemic. Alongside the live streams Rice also presents a podcast series looking behind the scenes of her work and process.
In 2021, Rice directed an adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights that toured at Bristol Old Vic and Theare Royal Brighton, receiving mixed to positive reviews from critics.
Rice's life and career, illustrated by the music that played a large part in her life, were featured in Michael Berkeley's Private Passions on BBC Radio 3 in May 2025.
ProductionsYear Of Originating ProductionRoleProduction companyNotes
The Itch1999Director/PerformerKneehigh Theatre
The Red Shoes2000Adapter/DirectorKneehigh TheatreThis production has had numerous revivals
Cry Wolf2001PerformerKneehigh Theatre
Pandora's Box2002Adapter/Performer/DirectorKneehigh Theatre
Tristan & Yseult2003Adapter/Performer/DirectorKneehigh TheatreThis production has had numerous revivals
The Wooden Frock2004Adapter/Performer/DirectorKneehigh Theatre
The Bacchae2005Adaptor/DirectorKneehigh Theatre
Nights At The Circus2006Adapter/DirectorKneehigh Theatre
Cymbeline2006Director/PerformerKneehigh Theatre
Rapunzel2006DirectorKneehigh Theatre
A Matter Of Life & Death2007Adapter/DirectorNational Theatre
Brief Encounter2007Adapter/DirectorDavid Pugh and Dafydd Rogers/Kneehigh TheatreThis production has had numerous revivals
Don John2008Adapter/DirectorKneehigh Theatre/RSC
The Wild Bride2011Adapter/DirectorKneehigh Theatre
Midnight's Pumpkin2011Adapter/DirectorKneehigh Theatre
Steptoe & Son2012Adapter/DirectorKneehigh Theatre
Rebecca2015Adapter/DirectorDavid Pugh and Dafydd Rogers/Kneehigh Theatre
The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg2011Director
Oedipussy2012DirectorSpyMonkey
The Empress2013DirectorRSCA Play by Tanika Gupta
The Flying Lovers Of Vitebsk2016DirectorKneehigh TheatreBased on a play by Daniel Jamieson & Emma Rice
946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips2017Adapter/DirectorKneehigh TheatreBased on the book by Michael Morpurgo
A Midsummer Night's Dream2016DirectorShakespeare's GlobeAlso broadcast by the BBC
Wah Wah Girls2015DirectorSadlers WellsA Play by Tanika Gupta, music by Niraj Chag
Twelfth Night2017DirectorShakespeare's Globe
The Little Match Girl2017DirectorShakespeare's Globe
Romantics Anonymous2016DirectorShakespeare's GlobeAdapted and directed by Emma Rice with music by Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond
Wise Children2018Adapter/DirectorWise ChildrenA 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.
Bagdad Cafe2021Adapter/DirectorWise ChildrenA co-production with The Old Vic London based on the film by Percy Adlon. This production was also Live Streamed as part of the Old Vic In Camera series.
Malory Towers2019Adapter/DirectorWise ChildrenBased on the books of Enid Blyton. A co-production with David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers
Wuthering Heights2021Adapter/DirectorWise ChildrenBased on the novel by Emily Bronté. This production has been filmed for Sky Arts.
Blue Beard2024Adapter/DirectorWise ChildrenA co-production with Birmingham Rep, HOME Manchester, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, and York Theatre Royal, based on the French folktale.