Breaking Baz: UK National Theatre Picks Indhu Rubasingham As First Woman For Top Post
Indhu Rubasingham, an acclaimed theater practitioner, has broken the decades-long white male hold on the reins of power at the National Theatre by being appointed its artistic director, it was being revealed Wednesday in London.
She succeeds current director and chief executive Rufus Norris, who, by the time he departs in 2025, would have held the job for a decade over two terms.
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Long tipped for the job, Rubasingham will assume Norris’s director title but will share chief executive duties jointly with present NT executive director Kate Varah.
In a statement released via the NT, Rubasingham said that her appointment was ”a huge honor — for me, this is the best job in the world.“ She added that the opportunity to play a role in the NT’s history “is an incredible privilege and responsibility.”
She said she has witnessed firsthand “the commitment, collaboration, brilliance and pride of those who bring the magic to the building.”
Born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, to Sri-Lankan Tamil parents, Rubasingham leaves her present post on Friday as artistic director of the Kiln Theatre in Kilburn, London, after a run of 11 years.
On Sunday, the Kiln threw her a leaving party that was hosted by Downton Abbey star and Wonka actor Jim Carter.
For the purpose of clarity, I sat on the panel that made her appointment to the Kiln.
Her ascension to the top artistic job at the UK’s flagship theatre — a dominating brutalist structure on the Southbank boasting three theatres and stunning views of the River Thames and thereabouts — is a signature moment for her, and for the UK theatre industry and community.
Laurence Olivier was the NT’s inaugural artistic director, and all of his successors have been male and pale. They include Peter Hall, Richard Eyre, Trevor Nunn, Nicholas Hytner and Norris.
The search committee, led by NT chair Sir Damon Buffini, never publicly announced that they sought a woman to run the theater complex, but it’s known that’s what they favored, as did Norris.
But Rubasingham won it on merit.
Sir Damon noted that throughout the recruitment process, “Indhu demonstrated to the panel her clear vision for the National Theatre’s next chapter, displaying her passion and commitment to bring the world to the National Theatre and to take the National Theatre to the world.”
When she took over the Kiln, then called the Tricycle, she inherited a demoralized staff and a tired building.
Her statement of intent was to revitalize the theater artistically and commercially by insisting on new work — with diversity at its core. She also joined forces with Jonathan Levy, chair at the time, to push through a $10 million capital-building program that made the building fit for purpose. None of it was easy, but having assembled a crack team helped enormously.
The first season opened with a new play called Red Velvet by Lolita Chakrabarti, starring Adrian Lester and directed by Rubasingham. It was a hit and transferred the West End and to St Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn.
Other successes include Handbagged, Paper Dolls and The Invisible Hand. She worked with Zadie Smith on White Teeth and The Wife of Willesden.
She has worked on several productions at the NT over the years, directing The Writing Room, The Motherf*cker with the Hat, The Great Wave, Ugly Lies the Bone, Kerry Jackson and Anupama Chandrasekhar’s The Father and the Assassin.
Rubasingham becomes director designate at the NT from the spring. She will officially take up her new titles a year later.
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