First female duo to head a London theatre departs Donmar

London’s Donmar Warehouse theatre says artistic director Josie Rourke and executive producer Kate Pakenham are leaving the company. They were the first female duo to run a London theatre.

The theatre said Thursday that Pakenham will leave in June after six years, and Rourke will depart in 2019 after eight years as artistic director.

The 250-seat Donmar had a string of successes under their leadership, including a production of Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus” with Tom Hiddleston; surveillance drama “Privacy,” which later ran in New York starring Daniel Radcliffe; and an acclaimed trilogy of Shakespeare plays with an all-female cast led by Harriet Walter.

Rourke is following other U.K. theatre directors into the movie business. She is currently finishing up historical drama “Mary Queen of Scots” starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie.