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]