Sydney Theatre Company has appointed director Kip Williams as Artistic Director following the shock departure in May of Englishman Jonathan Church who held the post for just eight months.
Williams, who has been acting as interim artistic director, was officially announced in the role on Thursday following a review of international and Australian candidates.
"Through our deliberations, we always returned to the notion of STC being an artist-led company with a distinctive heritage and voice. We believe Kip consistently makes some of the most exciting theatre in Australia, and many others in the industry share that view," Ian Narev, STC Chairman, said.
Narev said the board was unanimous in its decision to appoint Williams.
Cate Blanchett held the position alongside her husband, playwright and director Andrew Upton, from 2008 until 2013.
"This is wonderful news, not only for STC but for the whole theatre community. Kip's appointment marks an exciting new chapter," Blanchett said.
Upton, who continued in the role until 2015, said Williams was a unique and rare talent.
"Confident in his own creative voice and a terrific collaborator, he has an incredible track record already and is on the cusp of a magnificent career," Upton said.
Williams' first appointment at the STC was as an assistant director to Upton's production of The White Guard. In 2013 he became a resident director at the theatre company following work on plays including Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas.
His most recent work for STC was a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
"STC has been the watering hole our great artists have constantly returned to, whilst also being the birth place of the careers of some of our most important story tellers.
"I am incredibly excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with Australia's great theatre makers, whilst developing the next generation of artists," Williams said.
