NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, ONT.: Shaw Festival has appointed Tim Carroll to be its next artistic director, starting in 2017. Carroll is the artistic director designate and will work with current artistic director Jackie Maxwell for the 2016 season. Carroll may be best known in the U.S. for his years as an associate director at London’s Globe Theatre, in particular for his productions of Richard III and Twelfth Night, for whose Broadway run in the 2013-14 season he was Tony-nominated.

“Our search committee spent over a year speaking to people and interviewing candidates from Canada, America, and Europe,” said Peter Jewtt, chair designate of the board of governors and chair of the artistic director, in a statement. “The interest we received is a great testament to the regard in which the Shaw Festival is held both domestically and internationally. We are delighted to have attracted a person of Tim’s caliber as our next artistic director. His extensive experience, his empathy for actors, his imagination and creativity, and his keen interest in the festival’s mandate will produce an exciting and entertaining time at the Shaw in the coming years.”

Carroll worked with the English Shakespeare Company before serving as the artistic director of the Northcott Theatre in Exeter. Carroll also served as the artistic director for the Kent Opera, and he is a founding member of the experimental theatre group the Factory in London. Carroll’s directing work has spanned not only the Globe but the globe, from theatres in Hungary, Norway, Portugal, Romania, and Canada. In addition to his directing credits, Carroll has experience teaching master classes internationally.

“It’s an honor to be asked to lead this wonderful company,” said Carroll in a statement. “The Shaw has an unrivaled reputation for intelligent theatre that challenges and entertains. I can’t wait to work with this committed and brilliant team of artists.”