‘The level of hate was dangerous’: Michelle Terry on the backlash to her casting as Richard III

Michelle Terry as Richard in Richard III at Shakespeare's Globe. The theatre faced widespread criticism when Terry’s casting was announced. Photograph: Marc Brenner

Michelle Terry, the artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe, has called the backlash to her casting as Richard III “disproportionate” and said much of the anger aimed towards her in recent months has been misogynistic.

The Globe faced widespread criticism when it was announced that Terry, an Olivier award-winning actor and writer, would play Shakespeare’s “deformd, unfinish’d” king in its summer production opening on Tuesday night.