For the first time in its history, all plays in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s new season at its two main theatres will be directed by women.

On Tuesday the company announced its summer 2018 season, with a directorial lineup of Polly Findlay, Erica Whyman, Fiona Laird, Maria Aberg and Jo Davies.

The RSC’s artistic director, Gregory Doran, said it was not a deliberate act but part of a process whereby they had “reached a point where those women directors had been with us and had grown, developed”.

Equal representation for women in theatre is one of the liveliest debates in the sector and strides have been made in addressing what were often shocking imbalances. But many believe more changes are needed.  More