British theatre director and composer Claire van Kampen has died aged 71, her husband actor Sir Mark Rylance has confirmed.
Van Kampen, who was the first female musical director at both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, died on Saturday after being diagnosed with cancer, a statement shared on behalf of Sir Mark and her daughter Juliet said.
They described her as “one of the funniest and (most) inspiring women we have ever known”.
Her theatre credits also include writing the play Farinelli And The King, which starred her husband and was nominated for several Olivier Awards including best new play, and a number of Tony Awards.
She died in the German town of Kassel surrounded by her family, the statement said. Saturday also marked Sir Mark’s 65th birthday.
“We thank her for imbuing our lives with her magic, music, laughter, and love,” it added.
“Ring the bell, sound the trumpets reverie, something is done, something is beginning. One of the great wise ones has passed.”
Van Kampen and Sir Mark married in 1989, the same year she composed the music for the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet which he starred in.
She went on to compose original scores for Broadway productions including True West, Boeing-Boeing and La Bete, as well as adaptations of Shakespeare’s Twelth Night and Richard IIII.
After training at the Royal College of Music in London, where she studied music theory and piano, van Kampen joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1986.
She joined the Royal National Theatre the following year, and went on to serve as an artistic associate to Sir Mark at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre in the capital.
Most recently, van Kampen was Globe associate and senior research fellow for early modern music at the Globe, as well as a creative associate at the Old Vic Theatre in London.
She also worked as a Tudor music advisor and arrange for the BBC television series Wolf Hall.
Van Kampen had two daughters with her previous husband, architect Christopher van Kampen.
Her daughter Nataasha, a filmmaker, died aged 28 in 2012 after suffering a brain haemorrhage.
