‘Rare talent’: Kiln artistic director stands down after 10 years

Indhu Rubasingham's legacy includes rebrand of north London theatre and bringing culturally diverse voices to stage

One of the UK's foremost artistic directors is standing down from the Kiln theatre after more than a decade of bringing politically and culturally diverse voices to the stage.

Indhu Rubasingham has been the artistic director of the Kiln theatre in north London since 2012 and became the first woman of colour to run a big London theatre.

"I never had an inkling of the journey ahead when I was first was appointed. I immediately felt the responsibility, but what emerged was both challenging and exhilarating, an experience I will carry with me for the rest of my life," said Rubasingham, who is leaving the post in early 2024.

"I have been very lucky to be part of its story. It now feels the right moment to pass the baton and herald the next chapter of this unique theatre."

In 2012 Rubasingham took over from Nicolas Kent, who stood down after a £350,000 drop in the venue's funding. After her predecessor's 27-year run, Rubasingham became the third person to lead the Kiln as an independent theatre since its inception in 1980.

"What I’m really interested in is presenting work that looks at the world – from the local neighbourhood up to an international scale – through different lenses and from different perspectives," she said in 2011.

She has rebranded the commercial theatre from the Tricycle theatre in 2018 – a decision that came under scrutiny from former directors and board members for throwing away its legacy and history – and orchestrated a £9m refurbishment.

Born in Sheffield to Sri Lankan Tamil parents in 1970, Rubasingham first worked at the theatre in 1998, when she directed a production of Roy Williams's Starstruck. After critically acclaimed productions at the Almeida, National and Royal Court theatres, she led the Kiln theatre to become one of the country's most highly regarded companies, receiving various distinctions including a Liberty human rights award, two Olivier awards and three West End transfers.

Successes during her tenure include the award-winning Red Velvet by Lolita Chakrabarti who went on to win the Evening Standard theatre award for most promising playwright. Moira Buffini's Handbagged followed, opening to critical acclaim in 2013, and after the theatre's rebrand she adapted Zadie Smith's locally rooted novel White Teeth for the stage.

"Working with Indu Rubasingham at the Kiln has been the high point of my career as a playwright," said the Pulitzer prize-winning author Ayad Akhtar, whose play The Invisible Hand was directed by Rubasingham. "She is a fearless and gifted director – with that rarest of capacities to give audiences a pleasure that transforms them."

Steering the theatre through the pandemic, as the industry was brought to its knees, Rubasingham reopened the Kiln theatre to win the Stage 2021 award for London theatre of the year.

"She's a rare talent, and she will be much missed," said Sita McIntosh, chair of the theatre's board.

"Her greatest legacy is the building, which through a major capital project she has future-proofed for generations, and it is that building that will host the next chapter for the company as we look for a new artistic director to build on Indhu's evident successes."