Josie Rourke quits the Donmar

Ah, thanks. I remember seeing it at the Picadilly but thought there was a Donmar connection - must have been the creative team.

Indeed. How could you?

He’d be better at the Almeida after Rupert Goold.

Honestly, I don't know what happened. I may have to get myself to the doctor for a check-up!

I have nothing to back it up but I can just feel it in my waters that they will want to go with someone of the lady persuasion again which seems right in these times we live in at present.

Perhaps Vicky Featherstone knows someone hanging around at the Royal Court that she can recommend?

Yes, interesting news about Justin Audibert. Hope he continues to direct other stuff too as I've really enjoyed his stuff at the RSC and The Cardinal at Southwark.

Disappointed when I read this, i'd have initially agreed that I hadn't enjoyed as much under her tenure as Grandage's but when I actually look through what I've seen I've had plenty of really enjoyable times there and like her she goes about her work and what she says, so good luck to them both. When it comes to who is next i'm pretty ignorant of everyone discussed so far so it'll be like when she took over, or Rufus Norris or Emma Rice will have to wait and see. Interesting times.

Interesting how little she's actually directed there recently - nothing since St Joan at this time last year and, given what's already been announced, nothing until June at the earliest - although she did have a co-author credit for the Kids Company musical. And in 2016 most of her directing was in New York on transfers. With this and the time spent making the Mary Queen of Scots film, one wonders whether she's had her eye on the door for quite some time.

Someone mentioned Rob Icke who is about the last person one would think would apply for this job -- for one thing, he's never directed a single thing there --he'd have been better off at the Young Vic (which he circled briefly), but that ship has, alas, sailed. I wonder if Jamie Lloyd (who was much in the frame last time) will re-enter the fray. A more likely bet is someone like Rob Hastie, though he may feel he hasn't been at Sheffield long enough. But he would be following the theatre trajectory of Grandage and also has a great track record at the Donmar - and more to come this season.

Sarah Frankcom? Done great things at the Royal Exchange, been artistic director ten years this year (although joint with Greg Hersov until the last few years).

There's a long list of AD appointments in London of people who'd never previously directed anything at the venue (Rupert Goold at the Almeida for example) and if Icke circled the Young Vic (where he's never directed) then why not the Donmar ? Sometimes it is best to break out from the old boy's network on these appointments. The Young Vic would have been a better venue for him though, I agree. 

I think Icke is more of a large stage director, the Donmar would probably be a bit poky for him to spread out design-wise.

I didn’t say that! Somehow you’ve taken Jan’s words and given them to me!

Nor had Dominic Dromgoole. In the case of both appointments, Shakespeare's Globe decided to explore their unique theatre in a different way from previous ADs.

But he was a very experienced director who'd worked over a long time in many different theatres, and could be trusted to have a very sound vision of where he would take the Orange Tree.

The Donmar is a funny one. The constraints are huge as it needs to satisfy and is fundamentally reliant on all of Arts Council England, corporate donors, individual supporters and audiences. Other theatres can survive failure in one quarter but the Donmar is too small and expensive to lose any of them.