IN THE arts world, Indhu Rubasingham well and truly smashed the glass ceiling when she was appointed director of the National Theatre in December 2023. The first woman in the post, she will take over from Rufus Norris in spring 2025 when he will have been in the job for 10 years and his second term will end. She will also be joint chief executive of the National alongside Kate Varah who said Rubasingham was “someone I deeply admire as an artist and as a leader”. Rubasingham was born in Sheffield in 1970 to Tamil parents who came to the UK from Sri Lanka. She graduated from Hull University with a BA Hons in drama. In 2017, Rubasingham was awarded an MBE for services to theatre in the new year’s honours list and an honorary doctorate from Hull. She has previously held associate director positions at the Gate Theatre, Birmingham Rep and the Young Vic. In 2001, she was awarded the Carlton Multi-Cultural Achievement Award for Performing Arts; and an AWA (Advancing Women Artists foundation) for the arts in 2012. The Times said of her appointment: “Indhu Rubasingham is set to smash the biggest glass ceiling in British theatre after being named as the first female director of the National Theatre.” It added that her name “has been on so many lips in the past few months that the announcement that she is taking over at the helm of the National almost comes as an anti-climax. But this is still a landmark event, recognition of the changing face of British theatre.” The Guardian commented: “Rubasingham takes over an institution that, in the words of (theatre critic) Michael Billington, cannot go back to being ‘an exclusively white enclave’.” Rubasingham, who is also the first non-white director of the National, has reacted with obvious delight to her appointment: “It’s a huge honour to be appointed director of the National Theatre – for me, this is the best job in the world. The National has played an important part in my life – from tentative steps as a teenage theatregoer, to later as a theatre-maker, and to have the opportunity to play a role in its history is an incredible privilege and responsibility. “Theatre has a transformative power – the ability to bring people together through shared experience and storytelling, and nowhere more so than the National. I’ve been fortunate to have directed on the National Theatre’s stages and to have witnessed firsthand the commitment, collaboration, brilliance and pride of those who bring the magic to the building, both on stage and off. There’s nowhere like it, and it will be a joy to be a part of this iconic building’s next chapter, leading the company alongside Kate (Varah).
“I am thrilled to be following in the footsteps of Rufus (Norris), and I look forward to working closely with him from next year as I plan my first season.” Rubasingham follows in the footsteps of some of the most illustrious figures in theatre. Laurence Olivier was in charge from 1962– 1973. He was followed as director by Peter Hall (1973–1988); Richard Eyre (1988–1997); Trevor Nunn (1997–2003); and Nicholas Hytner (2003– 2015). Norris then took over. Eastern Eye readers will be familiar with Rubasingham’s career. She directed The Father and the Assassin, Anupama Chandrasekhar’s play on the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi seen from the perspective of his killer, Nathuram Godse, when it was first staged at the National in May 2022. This earned her the accolade for best director in Eastern Eye’s Arts Culture & Theatre Awards (ACTA) in February 2023. She directed the play when it returned to the National in September 2023 with a slightly different cast. This was not the first time she won an ACTA. That was in 2019 when she was named best director for White Teeth, an adaptation of Zadie Smith’s best-selling novel, which was staged at the Kiln Theatre in Kilburn. In 2016 she was nominated for an ACTA for directing Handbagged by Moira Buffini at the Kiln. This won an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre, before transferring to the West End and embarking on a UK tour. The National Theatre, too, has been recognised by Eastern Eye. In February 2021, when the National won an ACTA in the community engagement category for its commitment to diversity, it was Norris who collected the prize. Rubasingham is no stranger to the National. She has worked regularly in all its three South Bank auditoriums, directing such productions as The Waiting Room (written by Tanika Gupta with a star cast that included the Bollywood actress Shabana Azmi), The Ramayana, The Motherf*cker With the Hat, The Great Wave, Ugly Lies the Bone, and Kerry Jackson. In 2012, she succeeded the legendary Nicolas Kent as artistic director of the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn, which had become an artistic hothouse. He had been in the job since 1984. In April 2018, after a £9m capital renovation, Rubasingham changed the theatre’s name to the Kiln. During her time as artistic director of the Kiln, her production of Red Velvet by Lolita Chakrabarti (another ACTA winner who happens to be the sister of the BBC presenter Reeta Chakrabarti) transferred to the West End’s Garrick Theatre as well as St Ann’s Warehouse Theater in New York. Her production of Zadie Smith’s The Wife of Willesden transferred to American Repertory Theatre, Harvard University and Brooklyn Academy of Music. Other highlights of her programming include Florian Zeller trilogy – The Father, The Mother and The Son; and Ryan Calais Cameron’s Retrograde. In recognition of this work and its post-Covid opening season, the Kiln won The Stage 2021 Award for London Theatre of the Year. Norris, who probably had a hand in Rubasingham’s appointment, expressed confidence in his successor: “Indhu is an exceptional artist who I respect and admire hugely, and I am so pleased that she will become the next director when I step down in 2025. She has run Kiln Theatre expertly for over a decade and I know this experience will be invaluable as she moves to the NT – a place she knows well, having directed successfully in each of the three theatres. Together with Kate (Varah) and the brilliant, dedicated team here, I know that the National will continue to thrive and remain at the heart of British cultural life. I look forward to working closely with Indhu over my last year as director.” In its mission statement, the National Theatre says it “makes theatre that entertains and inspires using its creativity, expertise and unique reach. The National Theatre shares unforgettable stories with millions of audience members across the UK and around the world – on its own stages, on tour, in schools, on cinema screens and streaming at home. World-leading artists make their best work at the National Theatre with the widest possible audience and impact. The National Theatre invests in talent and innovation on stage and off, taking seriously its role as the nation’s theatre.” It’s a huge challenge but Rubasingham’s record suggests she will be able to produce world class theatre at the National.