The company to-date has had nine Artistic Directors, the longest serving of which is its current Artistic Director, Chris Jaeger MBE.
John Hole (1967 - 1974) John Hole, along with
David Wood and
Sam Walters founded the Worcester Repertory Company as the resident professional company at the Swan Theatre, Worcester. The theatre had opened two years previously, in 1965, but struggled to cope with the administration and day-to-day running. John Hole was appointed as the theatre's director and he later convinced the board of trustees to form a professional company that would run for eight weeks of the year to dovetail with the amateur programme. The Arts Council granted the company £450 to underwrite any loss that the company might make. As well as main-stage productions at the Swan Theatre, the WRC produced touring theatre to schools as well as other venues including The Abbey Theatre, St. Albans,
Plymouth Athenaeum and the
New Theatre Cardiff. Directors during this era included
Sam Walters,
David Wood, Mick Hughes, Don Dryden and John Hope-Mason.
David Wood, who would later be referred to as the "national children's dramatist", wrote his first children's play
The Tinder Box for the WRC in 1967 and premiered many of his most successful plays at the Swan Theatre during John Hole's tenure.
Michael Winter (1974 - 1977) Michael Winter had previously been a Staff Producer at the Saddlers Wells Opera and the Director of Productions for Bournemouth Theatre Company before he was appointed as the Worcester Repertory Company's Artistic Director. Productions during his tenure continued the eclectic programme set up by John Hole and included ''A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Lion in Winter, The Philanthropist, The Mating Game, Boeing Boeing, Sleuth, Absurd Person Singular, Oh Coward, Funny Peculiar
and Mrs. Warren's Profession.'' Associate directors during Michael Winter's tenure included, Don Dryden and
Richard Digby Day.
Patrick Masefield OBE (1977 - 1982) Patrick Masefield had worked as a freelance theatre director and Arts Council Officer before he was appointed as the Artistic Director of the Worcester Repertory Company. He had also founded the Stagecoach Young People's Theatre in 1969, which toured nationally and was the subject of a Tyne Tees Television Documentary. Masefield's productions were much bigger that the previous two directors', favouring musicals and big casts. In 1984-85 he wrote and directed a play about Woodbine Willie that featured a cast of over 200 people. under Patrick Masefield with
Sailor Beware. Prior to his arrival as Associate Director he had worked at the
Eden Court Theatre, Inverness as a performer. His first production as Artistic Director was
Cabaret which also marked the professional debut of
Rufus Norris as a member of the supporting cast. Other productions include ''Gypsy, A Tale of Two Cities, Vesta, The Elephant Man, The Dresser, Abigail's Party
and You're A Good Man Charlie Brown.'' Doyle also developed the use of the Swan Theatre's Studio space along with one of his Associate Directors,
Phyllida Lloyd CBE.
John Ginman (1985 - 1988) Following John Doyle's tenure as Artistic Director of the WRC many of the company's designers and production team followed him to the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham, leaving John Ginman with a number of positions to fill. Ginman's tenure focused more on classical works including
The Mystery Plays, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Servant to Two Masters and
The Tempest. Associate Directors during this time included Chris White.
Pat Trueman (1988 - 1994) Pat Trueman arrived as the Artistic Director of the Worcester Repertory Company from the Oldham Coliseum. She had also directed extensively for BBC Drama and the BBC World Service. During her tenure as Artistic Director, the Swan Theatre was nominated for the TMA Most Welcoming Theatre in England and Wales Award as well as for an Award for Best Show for Young People. Productions staged during this time included
Othello'', The Glass Menagerie, The Recruiting Officer, Our Country's Good, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Far From the Madding Crowd
and The Lusty Comedy of Tom Jones.'' Pat Trueman appointed two Associate Directors during her time:
Paul Clarkson, who had previously been a member of the acting company; and Jenny Stephens, who would later take over as the next Artistic Director.
Jenny Stephens (1994 - 2002) Jenny Stephens had worked as a freelance director and Associate of the company before taking up the post of Artistic Director. She had also won the BP Young Director's Award. Productions during her time as Artistic Director included ''The Wizard of Oz, Steaming, The Malvern Widow, The Importance of Being Earnest, Talking Heads, When I Was A Girl, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Henceforward, The Seagull
and Private Lives.'' Stephens' time with the WRC significantly incorporated community work, resulting in productions that utilised members of the youth theatre, amateur companies and professional company in new work written by members of the writer's network at the Swan Theatre. There were a number of Associate Directors during this time, most notably
Mark Babych, Dawn Allsop & Paul Milton. in 2019.
Ben Humphrey (2019 - 2020) Ben Humphrey left his post as Associate Director in mid 2018 to take up a position in Scotland, however, he returned to the company a year later to take up the role of Acting Artistic Director. == Notable Members ==