Deborah Warner named artistic director of Park Avenue Armory

Deborah Warner, a British director of theater and opera, has been appointed artistic director of the Park Avenue Armory, the institution announced on Tuesday. Warner, 66, succeeds Pierre Audi, who died last year, and her own work is expected to be part of the Armory’s programming.

Rebecca Robertson, the Armory’s president and executive producer, said she had interviewed “some really wonderful people” to succeed Audi and added, “I think this is the right decision for us, for sure.” Warner arrives with more than four decades of credits, including posts at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theater, long collaborations with the actress Fiona Shaw, and the distinction of becoming the first woman to win an Olivier Award for directing.

Warner was invited to submit a proposal rather than applying, and she has described the Armory’s drill hall as “a dream” and its possibilities as “infinite and endless.” Her résumé includes theater and opera work — a 2013 Metropolitan Opera production of Eugene Onegin was derailed when she had to depart for surgery, the staging was finished by Shaw and “was heavily criticized when it opened” — and she has been praised for making work in found spaces such as with The Angel Project.

The Armory’s recent leaders have commissioned artists across disciplines, and Robertson said Warner’s talent for found-space work suits the building.

Key Topics

Culture, Deborah Warner, Park Avenue Armory, Pierre Audi, Rebecca Robertson, Fiona Shaw