Press Story
16 Sept 2026
The Place is deeply saddened by the death of Bonnie Greer OBE, acclaimed playwright, novelist, critic and broadcaster, and a much-valued Patron of The Place.
Born in Chicago, Bonnie made Britain her home in 1986 and went on to become an influential and distinctive voice in British cultural life. Across a career spanning theatre, literature, broadcasting and public life, she wrote extensively for stage, radio and screen, as well as novels, memoir and non-fiction.
She served as Deputy Chair of the British Museum and on the boards of organisations including the Royal Opera House and London Film School, and was a former Chancellor of Kingston University. She was awarded an OBE for services to the arts in 2010 and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022.
As a Patron of The Place, Bonnie brought the same intellectual curiosity, generosity and appetite for ideas that characterised so much of her life and work.
In 2020, as part of The Place’s 50th anniversary, she joined Artistic Director Eddie Nixon for a wide-ranging conversation about art, education and what it means to be contemporary. Moving from Merce Cunningham and Pina Bausch to Shakespeare, Ibsen and the responsibility of cultural organisations to make artists visible, it was characteristically expansive.
Reflecting on education and the next generation of artists, Bonnie said:
“The challenge for education is to make the human being receptive to what’s useful to them. […] I want to encourage young artists to just take everything, take it and see what you can make out of it that’s yours!”
It speaks to Bonnie’s generosity towards younger artists, her restless curiosity, and her belief that culture is something to engage with and shape – rather than simply inherit.
We are enormously grateful for Bonnie’s support of The Place and for the intelligence, wit and curiosity she brought to cultural life. Our thoughts are with her husband David Hutchins, her family, friends and all those who knew and loved her.