Shakespeare’s Globe Boss Says AI Cannot Replace Theatre as She Plans Exit
Michelle Terry will leave Shakespeare’s Globe in 2027 after ten years, arguing that live theatre offers an experience artificial intelligence cannot reproduce.
Artificial intelligence may be transforming how films, television programmes and digital performances are created, but Michelle Terry believes there is something about live theatre that technology cannot reproduce.
The artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe made the argument as she announced plans to leave the London theatre at the end of 2027, bringing her ten-year tenure to a close.
Her departure was confirmed on Tuesday 27 October 2026, with Terry remaining in charge throughout the Globe’s 30th anniversary celebrations next year.
Why does Michelle Terry believe theatre is AI proof?
For Terry, the relationship between actors and audiences is central to what makes theatre distinctive.
At Shakespeare’s Globe, performers regularly address the audience directly, creating an environment where the people watching are part of the experience rather than separated from the action.
Unlike a recorded performance, a live production is shaped by the people present on a particular evening, including their reactions and interactions with the actors.
Artificial intelligence can already generate digital characters, synthetic voices and moving images, but those technologies operate differently from a shared performance taking place in front of an audience.
Terry’s comments raise a wider question for the entertainment industry about which creative experiences people will continue to seek as AI-generated content becomes more sophisticated.
Her argument is not necessarily that theatre cannot use technology, but that the relationship between living performers and audiences cannot be reduced to a digital reproduction.
What has Michelle Terry achieved at Shakespeare’s Globe?
Terry has led the organisation through a period that included the pandemic, changing audience expectations and renewed conversations about access to classical theatre.
Her leadership has supported affordable performances, including the Globe’s £5 standing tickets, alongside new writing and productions that reconsider familiar Shakespearean works.
She has also continued performing while serving as artistic director, maintaining a practical connection with the work taking place on stage.
Her final year will coincide with the 30th anniversary of the reconstructed Globe theatre, which opened in 1997.
When will Michelle Terry leave?
Terry will remain artistic director until the end of 2027 and is scheduled to perform in Mother Courage and Her Children from 10 June to 17 July 2027.
The production will give audiences another opportunity to see her on the Globe stage before her departure, while the organisation prepares for a new artistic leader.
Her successor has not yet been announced, leaving the future direction of one of London’s best-known theatres an important question for the coming year.
