The National Theatre has appointed Indhu Rubasingham as its new director, making her the first woman and person of colour to take on British theatre’s most important role.
The South Bank theatre said it was “thrilled” to hire Rubasingham who will take over from the outgoing Rufus Norris in spring 2025.
Rubasingham joins from the Kiln Theatre where she has been artistic director since 2012.
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She said: “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.”
At the Kiln in north London, Rubasingham worked with Zadie Smith on The Wife of Willesden and a stage adaptation of her breakthrough bestseller White Teeth.
Influential industry figures had called for the appointment to be a woman including Vicky Featherstone, artistic director at the Royal Court Theatre.
In an interview with The Times, she said: “As far as I am aware we [women] have been around the same amount of time as men.”
“Of course it is time there is another sort of view at the National,” she added.
Born in Sheffield, Rubasingham studied drama at Hull University and has held positions at the Gate Theatre, Birmingham Rep and Young Vic.
She was awarded an MBE for services to theatre in the new year honours list in 2017.