Photo: David Levene/The Guardian
In 1978, Julia Pascal became the first woman to direct a performance at the National Theater in London. It generated some press attention. Peter Hall, the artistic director, confided to his diary: "Gosh, women directors can direct, just like birds can sing."
Hall may have sounded bewildered, but it was another three years before a woman would direct a full-length production at his theater (Nancy Meckler with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), and another 42 years before the National managed to appoint a woman . leading the organization itself. Indhu Rubasingham will become the National's seventh artistic director (after Laurence Olivier, Hall, Richard Eyre, Trevor Nunn, Nicholas Hytner and Rufus Norris) and the first woman and first person of color in the role.
The theater world has reacted to her appointment with unfeigned delight and the thought that it's about damn time. Women are currently running many prominent theatres: among them Michelle Terry at Shakespeare's Globe, Nancy Medina at Bristol Old Vic and Rachel O'Riordan (reportedly shortlisted for the National job) at the Lyric Hammersmith. But Rubasingham's move from the highly regarded Kiln theater to the big seat at the National is a statement of intent for the entire industry.
Like most big jobs, it's virtually impossible. The National's artistic director must lead the institution and also set the direction for the theater industry as a whole. When advocacy is needed - in response to a pandemic, funding crises or the reduction of arts provision in school and university courses - Rubasingham will be the first voice people want to hear.
Leadership looks different than when the National opened in 1963. Olivier, the first artistic director, was heir to a long tradition of actor managers - leading from the spotlight (a spotlight, according to his co-star Maggie Smith, that he had subtly brightened). to attract attention when he was on stage). The young actors in his merry band (Michael Gambon, Derek Jacobi) were in awe of him and enjoyed being impressed.
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There are few directors who can play Henry V offstage as well as onstage and lead their company on charisma alone. Hall and Eyre both published diaries about their time on the hot seat, chronicles of physical and emotional crises, recorded in the hot ink of despair (Eyre typically noted 'constant feelings of panic, uncertainty, inadequacy'). The job requires long hours: scheduling meetings, rehearsals, technical meetings, unplanned tantrums, appearances, and then sneaking home before anyone else can yell at you.
Some theaters are forgoing the role of artistic director, and that's understandable: combining the roles of lead artist and budget manager is a heavy burden. As Brian Logan noted this week, some theaters delegate responsibility to a non-artist executive or leadership team, or share the role: Tamara Harvey recently became the Royal Shakespeare Company's first permanently appointed female artistic director, working with Daniel Evans . While Rubasingham will shape the National's programming, he will share executive responsibility with Kate Varah.
There's still something invigorating about an artistic director charting a course and standing up for the voices she believes in. The National is not a vanity project, but a test of courage and integrity. Three stages seat approximately 2,500 each evening: Olivier's open stage has challenged all directors since the South Bank building officially opened in 1976.
The program requires new writing: Rubasingham's record at the Kiln is strong, although finding a new piece that defines an era is never predictable. Olivier scored gold with Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead in 1967; Norris hit the back of the net with James Graham's Dear England this summer. And it's not just plays: physical theater, spoken word and circus all have a claim to the National stage.
New musicals can both attract new audiences and expand the art form: Norris's year has been buoyed by Standing at the Sky's Edge, now heading to the West End, and the black-hearted, pastel The Witches. What about classics? Rethinking the theatre's rich catalog was crucial to the National's early decades, attracting Britain's most powerful actors. Norris has been less affected, reflecting a broader shift in the industry. Everyone is doing Shakespeare, but British theater has largely turned away from Greek heroes, Jacobean villains and Restoration fops. Will Rubasingham revive the excitement of the National's mission and give a new voice to ancient texts?
The National once lagged behind in presenting female voices: a 2019 season announcement without a single female playwright was widely condemned (Sandi Toksvig said the National should be stripped of its title because it only shows "plays by boys, directed by boys, about boys ' performed)). Now all three national stages have female ensembles in plays by women (The Witches by Lucy Kirkwood after Dahl; The House of Bernarda Alba by Alice Birch after Lorca; Infinite Life by Annie Baker) and the building is packed. Norris says he will be proud of the increasing representation, and that Rubasingham will certainly embed diversity into the National's work.
We also expect the National to be a little more, well, national. Tour shows are becoming increasingly expensive. Last year, Sophie Scull, executive producer of English Touring Theatre, described the costs as "almost unsustainable". But the National is expanding its reach through NT Live cinema broadcasts (Dear England hits screens in January) and NT at Home is offering shows for streaming: next up is Paapa Essiedu in The Effect.
The only thing certain about this job is its uncertainty: how could an artistic director foresee Brexit, the Covid-19 crisis or the cost of living if our Prime Ministers failed to do so? What is predictable is that Rubasingham, like all her predecessors, will face criticism. Eyre thought that a major success could earn him a year of critical immunity: the reverse is also true. Whatever course Rubasingham charts when she takes office in 2025, it won't be boring.