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Andrew Upton, minus Cate Blanchett, staying at Sydney Theatre Company

Andrew Upton and Cate Blanchett at a July photocall for the Sydney Theatre Company's production of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" in New York.
(Jemal Countess / Getty Images)
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Andrew Upton is staying on at the Sydney Theatre Company, assuming the position of sole artistic director starting in January. For the last four years, Upton and his wife, actress Cate Blanchett, have served as co-artistic directors of Australia’s most prominent theater company.

Upton’s decision to continue leading the company has come as a surprise because he and Blanchett had announced their decision to both step down at the end of 2013. The couple was recently in New York for the company’s staging of Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya,” starring Richard Roxburgh, Blanchett, Hugo Weaving and Jacki Weaver.

Since Upton and Blanchett began their tenure, the Sydney Theatre Company has seen its international profile soar with touring productions of “Hedda Gabler,” “A Streetcar Named Desire”and “Uncle Vanya.”

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All three plays starred Blanchett, whose Hollywood connections helped to lure other marquee names to the company, including William Hurt, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Liv Ullmann and Steven Soderbergh.

ALSO:

Cate Blanchett returns to the stage in “Uncle Vanya”

Australian newspaper backtracks on Cate Blanchett report

Theater review: “A Streetcar Named Desire” at BAM Harvey Theater

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