Michelle Terry (born 1979) is an English actress and writer, known for her extensive work for Shakespeare's Globe, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre, as well as her television work, notably writing and starring in the Sky One television series The Café. Terry took up the role of artistic director at Shakespeare's Globe in April 2018.
In 2010, Terry won the Olivier Award for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Sylvia in Tribes at the Royal Court Theatre.
Early life Terry was born in Nuneaton, moving while still a child to grow up in Weston-super-Mare.The Stage/Features/Showpeople/Michelle Terry; retrieved 20 February 2011. She was raised in Kewstoke, and attended Priory Community School and Broadoak Sixth Form Centre.Michelle is right at home for new Sky comedy show Weston Mercury; retrieved 15 November 2011.
Terry aspired to be an actress from an early age. She attended an amateur dramatic society and took LAMDA exams at school in poetry, prose and spoken verse. At the age of fourteen she joined the National Youth Theatre.GlobeLink :: Princess of France: Michelle Terry plays the Princess of France; retrieved 20 February 2011. She read English literature at Cardiff University before training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 2004.
Career Theatre Terry made her professional debut in the touring and subsequent West End production of Blithe Spirit, playing the Maid and understudying Elvira. Her other theatre credits include The War on Terror, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, The Man Who Had All the Luck, Tribes and As You Like It. Her work at the National Theatre includes London Assurance, All's Well That Ends Well and England People Very Nice.Michelle Terry – Company Members – National Theatre ; retrieved 20 February 2011. She also appeared in broadcast versions of London Assurance and All's Well That Ends Well as part of National Theatre Live. For the Royal Shakespeare Company, Terry has appeared in productions of Days of Significance, Pericles, The Winter's Tale, The Crucible and Love's Labour's Lost, playing Rosaline. She was among the writers of Sudden Loss of Dignity, staged at the Bush Theatre in 2009.Michelle Terry | London Theatre Database ; retrieved 20 February 2011.
Terry won critical acclaim for her work at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, for her performance of Rosalind in As You Like It. London's Financial Times wrote "I'm not sure it's possible to see Michelle Terry on a stage without falling a little in love with her. She has the intelligence, inventiveness and vivacity to play the character and the show simultaneously, not setting herself above the material but relishing her immersion in the role and inviting us to share it with her." She also appeared in productions of Love's Labour's Lost and A Midsummer Night's Dream at that venue, both of which were released on DVD. On 24 July 2017 she was announced as its fourth artistic director, to succeed Emma Rice in April 2018.
Hamlet, 2018 Terry starred in the lead role in a 2018 gender fluid version of Hamlet. The Spectator said in their review "No one but Ms Terry would have hired Ms Terry for this role. She's a decent second-tier actress without any special vocal or physical endowments."
The Guardian called the play "a perfectly decent production and a welcome relief from the work of the previous Globe regime, which seemed to assume that the plays were a bit boring unless jazzed up."
The Stage said: "It's a production that places clarity of verse and emotion over directorial fireworks. One of the most striking elements is Terry's costume. When she assumes her antic disposition, she also dons a white clown suit with a jagged lipstick grin. By making Hamlet a jester, it licenses her to behave in different ways. It shifts her status in the family. It grants her power and marks her apart. Laughter can be a weapon after all. It's an interesting idea that is under-explored."
Macbeth, 2018 Terry starred in the lead role of Lady Macbeth opposite her husband Paul Ready in Macbeth at the Globe's candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.
Twelfth Night, 2021 In The Globe's 2021 production of Twelfth Night, directed by Sean Holmes, Terry starred as Viola.
Richard III, 2024 In The Globe's 2024 production of Richard III, Terry was cast in the lead, which generated backlash and controversy over a non-disabled actor being cast as a disabled character and historical figure, a practice commonly referred to as cripping-up. The script was also edited in an attempt to make Richard non-disabled which subsequently led to 281 disabled actors and allied art professionals, and 35 organisations including several theatre companies, under the name of this Disabled Artists Alliance speaking out against this casting and "the erasure and rewriting of Richard's core disabled identity".
Television Her television credits include episodes of Extras, Law & Order: UK and the Mike Bullen pilot Reunited, playing "Sara".BBC – BBC One Programmes – Reunited; retrieved 20 February 2011. She was co-writer, with Ralf Little, of the comedy drama TV series, The Café, which aired on Sky1 from 2011 to 2013, in which she played "Sarah Porter". The series was set and filmed in her own hometown, Weston-super-Mare.She is currently playing the role of Luciana in the National Theatre's production of 'A Comedy of Errors'. Somerset seafront sitcom The Cafe ready for airing on Sky One | This is Somerset Retrieved 2011-11-15.
Writing Besides co-writing The Café, Terry has co-written two plays. The first was Sudden Loss of Dignity for the Bush Theatre in 2009, which she co-wrote with Zawe Ashton, James Graham, Joel Horwood, and Morgan Lloyd Malcolm. In 2015, it was announced she would write for My Mark, a ten-year project from the Donmar Warehouse charting the political growth of the next voting generation. In 2017, she co-wrote and starred in Becoming with Rosalie Craig.
Theatre +Year(s)TitleRoleTheatreRef.2004/5Blithe SpiritEdithSavoy Theatre2005As You Like ItCeliaNew Vic TheatreThe Burial at ThebesIsmene/ChorusNottingham Playhouse2006Beautiful ThingLeahSound TheatreThe Crucible Mary WarrenRoyal Shakespeare Theatre2006/7PericlesPhilemonSwan TheatreThe Winter's TalePerdita2007Days of SignificanceClareThe PromiseLikaNew Wimbledon TheatreLove's Labour's LostPrincess of FranceShakespeare's Globe2008The War on TerrorWomanBush TheatreTwo CigarettesGirl50 Ways to Leave Your LoverVariousThe Man Who Had All the LuckHester FalkDonmar Warehouse50 Ways to Leave Your Lover at ChristmasVariousBush Theatre2009Sudden Loss of DignityCo-writerBush TheatreEngland People Very NiceCamille/Mary/Black Ruth/DeborahNational TheatreAll's Well That Ends WellHelenaLove's Labour's Lost Princess of FranceShakespeare's Globe2010London AssuranceGrace HarkawayNational TheatreLight Shining in Buckinghamshire Henry IretonArcola TheatreTribesSylviaRoyal Court Theatre2011/12The Comedy of Errors LucianaNational Theatre2012/13In the Republic of HappinessMadeleineRoyal Court Theatre2013Before the PartyKathleen SkinnerAlmeida TheatreA Midsummer Night's Dream Hippolyta/TitaniaShakespeare's Globe2014Love's Labour's LostRosalineRoyal Shakespeare TheatreMuch Ado About Nothing (Love's Labour's Won)BeatricePrivacyDirectorDonmar Warehouse2015My MarkWriterAs You Like It RosalindShakespeare's Globe2016CleansedGraceNational TheatreHenry V King Henry VRegent's Park Open Air TheatreProm 48Titania/HippolytaRoyal Albert Hall2017BecomingSelf/Co-writerDonmar Warehouse2018As You Like ItAdam/William/Jacques de BouysShakespeare's GlobeHamletHamlet2018/19MacbethLady MacbethSam Wanamaker Playhouse2019Henry IV, Part 1HotspurShakespeare's Globe2020The Taming of the Shrew BiondelloSam Wanamaker PlayhouseMacbeth: A ConjuringLady MacbethDeep Night, Dark NightWriter2021Twelfth NightViolaShakespeare's Globe2022King LearCordelia/FoolThe Fir TreeDirector2023A Midsummer Night's DreamPuckTwelfth Night: For One Night OnlyOlivia2024Richard IIIKing Richard III2025Three SistersOlgaSam Wanamaker PlayhouseAn Oak TreeGuest performerYoung VicA Midsummer Night's Dream: For One Night OnlyHippolyta/TitaniaShakespeare's Globe 2026Mother Courage and her ChildrenMother Courage
Filmography
Film Year Title RoleNotesRef. 2010Reunited Sara2011Five TruthsOpheliaVideo installation for V&A My TimesShort film2013Fifty Years on StageDr. Bird/Shepherd 32016The Complete Walk: As You Like It Director, short filmThe Complete Walk: King JohnThe Complete Walk: Richard IIIThe Complete Walk: The Winter's TaleThe Complete Walk: HamletHamletShort film
Television Year Title RoleNotesRef. 2005Extras Female Extra Episode: "Patrick Stewart" 2009Law & Order: UK Debbie Grove Episode: "Unloved"2011The Café Sarah Porter Actress/writer/producer2018Marcella Jane Colletti 7 episodes2025Rob & Romesh VSGuestEpisode: "Shakespeare"
Radio YearTitleRoleStationNotesRef.2013Listening to the DeadClaraBBC Radio 4Episode: "Four Sons"PilgrimNorahEpisode: "Woolmere Walter"2014EducatorMariaBBC Radio 3Pride and PrejudiceCharlotte LucasBBC Radio 42 episodesWords and MusicReaderBBC Radio 3Episode: "Women Beware Women"2015Book of the WeekReaderBBC Radio 45 episodes: "All Day Long"2023The EssayReaderBBC Radio 3Episode: "Reading the First Folio — Michelle Terry on As You Like It"
Awards Terry won Best Actress in a Visiting Production at the 2008 Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards, for the Donmar Warehouse production of The Man Who Had All the Luck.
She won Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 2011 Laurence Olivier Awards, for her portrayal of Sylvia in the Royal Court Theatre production of Tribes.Terry wins Best Actress In A Supporting Role – Laurence Olivier Awards Retrieved 2011-03-16.
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