Indhu Rubasingham, , is a British theatre director and the current artistic director of the

Kiln Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...

(formerly the Tricycle Theatre) in

Kilburn, London Kilburn is an area of north west London, England, which spans the boundary of three London Boroughs: London Borough of Camden, Camden to the east, City of Westminster, London Borough of Brent, Brent to the west. There is also an area in the City ...

Early life

Born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

parents from

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

in 1970, Rubasingham was educated at Nottingham Girls' High School, after which she studied drama at

Hull University , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

(where she received an Honorary Doctorate in 2017).

Career

Freelance directing

Soon after graduating from Hull University, Rubasingham received an Arts Council bursary to work as a trainee director at the

Theatre Royal Stratford East The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose ...

, where she assisted director

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Des ...

. She then worked as a freelance theatre director for over fifteen years and during this time held posts as an associate director at the

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochlai ...

, the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

, and the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

. She has worked across the UK and internationally. Her focus has been predominantly directing new writing and developing exciting voices. Themes that often arise in her work explore and examine ideas around British identity and the threads of human connection that crosses race, culture and identity; telling stories from different perspectives and specificity that reveals the universality of the human spirit. Rubasingham had a long relationship with the international department at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

when headed by Elyse Dodgson which allowed her to forge relationships with playwrights from Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Uganda and India. Indhu has also had a longstanding relationship with Sundance Theatre Lab (2011–2019), under the artistic directorship of Philip Himberg. She has directed radio plays for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The sta ...

and the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the British Government through the Foreign Secretary's office. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception a ...

. She is a Trustee for the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

, Metroland (Brent), The George Devine Award and The

Susan Smith Blackburn Prize The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women+ writing for English-speaking theatre. Named for Susan Smith Blackburn (1935–1977), alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer. W ...

. Previous trustee positions include

Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, formerly Mountview Theatre School, is a drama school in Peckham, south London, England, founded in 1945. The Academy provides specialist vocational training in acting and musical theatre, as well as production ...

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

Advisory Board and the Regional Theatre Young Directors Scheme (currently a patron). She is on the judging panel for the Channel 4 Playwriting Scheme and has been for the Women's Prize for Playwriting and the Phil Fox Award for Playwriting. In 2017, Rubasingham was awarded an MBE in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

List.

As Artistic Director (2012–present)

Indhu Rubasingham succeeded Nicolas Kent as artistic director of the

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...

in 2012. In April 2018, after a capital renovation, the theatre changed its name to the

. Rubasingham's mission for

is to make theatre for all by making space for unheard/ignored voices to be part of the mainstream and be a local theatre with an international vision. The theatre sits in the Borough of Brent. Rubasingham oversaw a £9 million major renovation of the building which reopened in 2018. The revamped building includes an adaptable stage in the larger 292-seat theatre, better sightlines, new lighting facilities, a new café, improved disabled access and gender-neutral toilets. Under her artistic leadership, the Creative Engagement programme aims to champion the imagination, aspiration and potential of the Brent community young and old. During her time as artistic director, her production of Red Velvet by

Lolita Chakrabarti Lolita Chakrabarti (born 1 June 1969) is a British actress and writer. Early life Chakrabarti was born in Kingston upon Hull, England, to Bengali Hindu parents from India on 1 June 1969. She grew up in Birmingham, where her father worked as ...

transferred to the West End's

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ' ...

and St Ann's Warehouse Theater in New York. Her production of

Moira Buffini Moira Buffini (born 29 May 1965) is an English dramatist, director, and actor. Early life Buffini was born in Cheshire to Irish parents, and attended St Mary's College at Rhos-on-Sea in Wales as a day girl. She studied English and Drama at Gol ...

Handbagged ''Handbagged'' is a play by the British playwright Moira Buffini, examining the relationship between Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister from 1979 to 1990. Background ''Handbagged'' originated ...

transferred to the West End's Vaudeville Theatre prior to a UK tour before playing at

59e59 59E59 Theaters is a curated rental venue located in New York City that consists of three theater spaces or stages. It shows both off-Broadway (in Theater A) and off-off-Broadway plays (in Theaters B and C). The complex is owned and operated b ...

in New York and Washington, D.C.'s Round House Theatre. She also programmed

Florian Zeller Florian Zeller (; born 28 June 1979) is a French novelist, playwright, theatre director, screenwriter, and film director. He won the Prix Interallié for his 2004 novel ''The Fascination of Evil'' and several awards for his plays. He wrote and ...

's ‘Family Trilogy’ which included The Son which transferred to the West End's

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

in 2019 and '' The Father'', which transferred to the West End's

Wyndham's Theatre Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c.1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the archit ...

in 2015 before moving to the West End's

in 2016. ''The Father'' was adapted for the 2020 film starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman, directed by Zeller. In August 2014, while she was artistic director, she was at the centre of an Antisemitism controversy over the funding of the UK Jewish Film Festival intended to have been held at the theatre.

Awards

* Kiln Theatre ‘Best London Theatre’

The Stage Awards ''The Stage'' Awards are theatre awards created by ''The Stage'' to recognise and celebrate theatrical achievements across the UK and internationally. Established in 2011, the awards recognise accomplishments by West End theatres, regional theatr ...

(2021) * Best Director, White Teeth, ACTA –

Eastern Eye The ''Eastern Eye'' is a British weekly newspaper. It was created in 1989 and was first published by ''The Guardian'', before becoming a standalone newspaper. History Sarwar Ahmed Sarwar Ahmed ( bn, সরয়ার আহমেদ; bor ...

's Arts Culture & Theatre Awards (2019) * Tonic Awards (2017) *

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre, Handbagged (2014) * The Arts & Culture Award, Asian Women of Achievement Awards (2012) *

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

Human Rights Award (2010) * The Carlton Multi-Cultural Achievement Award for Performing Arts (2001)

Productions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubasingham, Indhu Living people English theatre directors English people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent Members of the Order of the British Empire Women theatre directors People from Sheffield Alumni of the University of Hull People educated at Nottingham Girls' High School Year of birth missing (living people)