Regent’s Park Open Air theatre in London has appointed Drew McOnie as its new artistic director, in a rare case of a choreographer being given the top job at a major British theatre. McOnie will replace Tim Sheader who has cemented the outdoor theatre’s reputation for musicals and takes over at the Donmar Warehouse in the new year.
McOnie is no stranger to Regent’s Park, having choreographed its hit 2016 revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, which had two sold-out seasons at the theatre, transferred to the Barbican and toured the UK and the US. He directed and choreographed On the Town there in 2017 and choreographed Carousel in 2021.
McOnie, who also becomes joint chief executive alongside executive director James Pidgeon, said that the venue, where shows are staged in (almost) all weather over summer, was a “magical” setting: “There is nowhere in London where the shared experience of live theatre is more electric than at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre. It captured my imagination and stole my heart from my very first visit.
“Long before becoming a director and choreographer I was a dancer, and it was widely known within the performing community that Regent’s Park was the place to work. This wasn’t just because of the exceptional standard of work being created but also because of the care and support for its artists. Under the inspiring leadership of Tim Sheader, I was able to become the artist I wanted to be, and I am committed to continuing that legacy of care and creativity for artists and audiences alike.”
He will retain his position as artistic director of the McOnie Company, whose new version of The Nutcracker takes place in the pop-up Tuff Nutt Jazz Club at the Southbank Centre. Next year, at Theatre Royal Plymouth, the company will open an adaptation of The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius’s Oscar-winning 2011 film about Hollywood’s silent era.
McOnie’s credits include Merlin, created for Northern Ballet; Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights; the Broadway musical King Kong; and Cake, a gig-theatre show about Marie Antoinette, which is still being developed.
