Selina Cartmell will succeed Michael Colgan as the Gate Theatre's new artistic director.

Cartmell, who is originally from Cumbria in England, will officially take over the position in January. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, she has directed a wide range of work from Greek tragedy to contemporary Irish drama for theatres including the Abbey, the Gate, and London's Royal Court.

She directed three award-winning productions for the Gate - “Catastrophe”, “Festen” and “Sweeney Todd” - and is currently artistic director of Dublin-based Siren Productions.

Cartmell will become only the fourth artistic director in the Gate’s 88-year history, following Colgan and the theatre’s founders Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir who jointly held the post. Colgan announced in June that he would be departing after 33 years in the job, where he has enjoyed a string of national and international successes .

He has for many years been the best paid arts executive in the country, with remuneration of €251,416 in 2014, and has had a fractious relationship with the theatre's main funder, the Arts Council, which has cut its support by 17 per cent in recent years.

Cartmell said she was honoured to be given the opportunity of running the Gate. “As the new director, I will be both an enabler and a programmer, working with a dedicated team to provoke artists into running an electrical current through classic and contemporary work to show us what is really there and who we really are today,” she said.

The Gate's chair, Mary Finan, stated: "We were impressed by Selina's distinguished track record and breadth of experience, her creative energy and her innovative vision for the future of the Gate and the board is confident that she will deliver on our goal."

The Gate declined to comment on what Cartmell’s salary would be.