Diana Devlin (1 April 1941 - 27 September 2020) was a London based teacher, author and theatre academic who helped to create the Shakespeare's Globe theatre with her associate Sam Wanamaker. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Devlin was born in Porthmadog, Wales on 1 April 1941. [1] She studied at Beaufort House primary school in Fulham, and then at Carlyle grammar school in Chelsea, where she was head girl at the school. [1] In 1960, she attended Cambridge University and obtained a second-class degree in English Literature. [1] [2] During her time at Cambridge she became close friends with the actress Miriam Margolyes. [2] [5] She married the actor Will Graham in 1968 but they divorced a few years later. [1] After attending Cambridge, she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and subsequently gained a doctorate in theatre arts from the University of Minnesota. [1] [2] After graduation, Devlin became a lecturer in drama at Goldsmiths, University of London. [1] [2]
Devlin was a key figure in the development of the Shakespeare's Globe theatre. [1] [2] This began with her running the theatre's first summer school, which took place in 1972. [3] In 1985, she became the administrator of the theatre. [1] In 1997, Devlin was appointed as a trustee of the theatre and would later act as the deputy chair of the council from 2013. [1] [3]
In 1989, she married David Ogden but the marriage also ended in divorce. [1]
Between 1993 and 2013 she was the head of theatre studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. [1]
Devlin died on 27 September 2020. [1] The cause of death was pneumonia. [2]
In June 2019, she received the Sam Wanamaker Award in recognition of her pioneering support of the Globe for 47 years. [1] [6]