Cate and Andrew exit Stage Left.

The hunt is on for a new artistic director of The Sydney Theatre Company following confirmation that Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton are stepping  down at the end of next year.

It’s not unexpected – Cate Blanchett told Stage Whispers last year that she always intended that her joint role with her husband to be a short term appointment with a departure date on the horizon.

The pair have been joint directors of the company since 2008, when they succeeded Robyn Nevin. A new artistic director will take over in 2014.

Blanchett has brought star power to STC productions she has appeared in, such as A Streetcar Named Desire, Uncle Vanya and The War of the Roses. Upton has written original plays and adaptations for the company, including an acclaimed Uncle Vanya.

The STC's general manager, Patrick McIntyre, told The Australian Blanchett and Upton, a playwright and stage director, had always wanted an orderly succession and would like to work with the new artistic director rather than dump a 2014 program on them.

''As far as the company and the board is concerned [Blanchett and Upton's tenure] has been a great success,'' he said.

The company has made bumper profits and made high profile contributions to the environment by greening The Wharf.

But artistically their reign has not always met with universal acclaim.

Year after year local critics and judges give the plaudits and prizes to the smaller Belvoir Theatre.

Again last week Belvoir blitzed the STC at The Sydney Theatre Awards.

While the STC under Blanchett and Upton has toured classics to international stages in New York and Europe they have not yet produced an original Australian play that has benefited from the star power, they have brought to the STC,  and gone on to other stages around Australia.

Share your comments via our contact form or at our facebook or twitter link to this story

Image: Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton ahead of the launch of STC’s 2012 Main Stage Season. Photographer: Grant Spakes-Carroll.

To keep up with the latest news and reviews at Stage Whispers, click here to like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.