Claire Louise van Kampen, Lady Rylance, wife of actor Sir Mark Rylance, has died in Germany aged 71.
A statement from her family said that she had died of cancer, on 18 January 2025.
Born on 3 November 1953, van Kampen was an acclaimed composer, musician, writer and director, who worked for twenty years as Musical Director at Shakespeare’s Globe in London.
A statement from husband Mark Rylance, and her daughter Juliet Rylance, said:
Claire Louise van Kampen, Lady Rylance, has died this morning, Saturday the 18th of January at 11:47, in the ancient town of Kassel, Germany, surrounded by her family. Wife of architect Christopher van Kampen and, later, actor Sir Mark Rylance, Claire was mother of two girls with Christopher, Nataasha van Kampen and Juliet Rylance.
Concert Pianist, Composer, Musical Director at Shakespeare’s Globe for twenty years under Rylance and then Dominic Dromgoole, Playwright, Theatre Director, she was also one of the funniest and inspiring women we have ever known.
Claire has died of cancer on Mark Rylance’s 65th Birthday. Her youngest daughter having died in 2012, she leaves her eldest daughter, Juliet Rylance, her two husbands, and countless beloved friends in England and America.
We thank her for imbuing our lives with her magic, music, laughter, and love. Ring the bell, sound the trumpets reverie, something is done, something is beginning. One of the great wise ones has passed.
Mark and Juliet Rylance
Shakespeare’s Globe put out on a statement on social media saying: “We are deeply saddened by the news of the death of Claire van Kampen. From the opening of the Globe, she served as Founding Director of Music from 1996-2006, and as Artistic Associate alongside her husband and creative collaborator, Sir Mark Rylance (Founding Artistic Director). She remained at the Globe as Early Music Associate and Senior Research Fellow. She was musical consultant and resident composer from 2007-2015. She continued to compose, write, and direct at the Globe, and was a member of the Creative Council. From 1996, she composed music for 47 Globe productions, most recently for Kathryn Hunter’s King Lear in 2022. Claire made her debut as Director with Othello (2018) at the Globe, and wrote the multi-award winning Farinelli and The King (premiered 2015) which was nominated for 6 Olivier and 5 Tony Awards including Best Play. Her impact, not only at the Globe but within the music and theatre industries, is immeasurable. She will be greatly missed by so many. Our thoughts and love are with her Mark, and her daughter Juliet, and all of Claire’s friends and family.”
Tamara Harvey and Daniel Evans, Co-Artistic Directors of the RSC, said on social media: “We are dearly saddened to hear of the passing of Claire van Kampen today. Claire was a true genius, not only in her music but also in her understanding of Shakespeare and of the relationship between actor, audience, text, music and silence in so many forms of storytelling. Her score for Pericles this season was a thing of wonder and beauty, which captivated audiences at the Swan and in Chicago alike. The world is a far more beautiful place for having had her in it. Our thoughts are with all those, near and far, who were lucky enough to know her.”
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