Danny Boyle third in The Stage theatre power list

Danny Boyle has reportedly turned down a knighthood

Danny Boyle has moved up to third place on this year's Stage 100, a list of the UK's most influential people in performing arts.

He has been recognised for his role as director of the opening ceremony at the London 2012 Olympics.

Boyle shares the position with Ruth Mackenzie, the director of the Games' accompanying Cultural Olympiad.

Topping the Stage 100 for the fourth successive year are husband and wife, Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire.

Together they are joint chief executives of the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), which owns major independent theatres in the UK, including the Donmar Warehouse and the Edinburgh Playhouse.

This year, the pair are joined at number one by the National Theatre's Sir Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr, who were second in 2011's list.

It marks the first time in the list's 17-year history that someone from the non-commercial theatre sector has topped The Stage 100.

"The most significant feature of this year's Stage 100 is the placing of the National Theatre in joint first place with the Ambassador Theatre Group," said Alistair Smith, deputy editor of The Stage.

"The National's listing alongside the commercial sector's super-power, ATG, reflects not only the NT's stature but also the stature of subsidised theatre itself," he explained.

Elsewhere, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has dropped down two places to number six, while Sir Cameron Mackintosh remains at number four.

Sir Michael Boyd and Vikki Heywood, the departing artistic director and executive director of the Royal Shakespeare Company are placed fifth.

There were three new entries in the top 20 including the actor and first artistic director of the Globe theatre in London, Mark Rylance.

The 52-year-old has been recognised for his return to the Globe and the West End in a double bill of Twelfth Night and Richard III.

Regionally, Daniel Evans and Dan Bates entered the theatre power list, for their work in charge of Sheffield Theatres.

The current artistic director and chief executive of the Shakespeare's Globe, Dominic Dromgoole and Neil Constable are also newcomers to the list.

The full Stage 100 appears in the January 3 edition of The Stage.