UKs National Theatre Taps Indhu Rubasingham As First Female Director

LONDON (CelebrityAccess) – The National Theatre has not had a female artistic director and joint chief executive in its 60-year history until now. Indhu Rubasingham has been named the next artistic director for the London landmark.

Rubasingham will replace current director and chief executive Rufus Norris, who will vacate the spot in Spring 2025 when his second term ends. Rubasingham will join as the director-designate in Spring 2024, taking over Norris’ title, but will share chief executive duties with Kate Varah, the current executive director.

Rubasingham has been the artistic director of London’s Kiln Theatre for over a decade. Notable highlights of her time there include “White Teeth” and “The Wife of Willesden” with Zadie Smith, “The Invisible Hand” with Ayad Aktar, “Red Velvet,” “Handbagged,” and more. Programming credits include “The Father,” “The Mother,” “The Son,” and “Retrograde.”

Rubasingham said: “It’s a huge honor 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 theatergoer, to later as a theater-maker, and to have the opportunity to play a role in its history is an incredible privilege and responsibility. Theater 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. I am thrilled to be following in the footsteps of Rufus, and I look forward to working closely with him from next year as I plan my first season.”

Born in Sheffield, Rubasingham, who is of Tamil Sri Lankan heritage, will be the National Theatre’s seventh director. The theatre was founded by Sir Laurence Olivier in 1963.

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