Rufus Norris is to step down as director of the National Theatre after steering the flagship arts institution through the challenges of the Covid pandemic and responding to the climate crisis and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Norris, the NT’s artistic director and chief executive, said that spring 2025, when he would have been in post for 10 years, was the “absolutely natural point” to move on. He said he had “no plans” for the future.
Norris, 58, said: “It has been and remains the greatest privilege of my career to lead the National Theatre. For the past eight years I have had the honour of shaping the programme of extraordinary work that sparks imagination, brings people together and illustrates the vital role theatre can play in all our lives … To have been a small part in [the NT’s] illustrious history, particularly through the challenges of the last few years, is a true honour.”
Norris is the latest high-profile arts leader to step down since theatres reopened after the pandemic. The Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Court, the Hampstead Theatre and the Manchester Royal Exchange are among those going through leadership changes.
Speaking to reporters, Norris said the last eight years had been “lively”, with Brexit, Covid, Black Lives Matter (BLM), five prime ministers, 10 culture secretaries and the rise of social media. But, he added, “it is a blessed relief to see how we are emerging intact after what has undoubtedly been the most challenging time in history”.
Five years before the pandemic, the NT had reached its highest-ever audience figures. “This year, we are finally back to that strength.”
Its theatres were currently about 90% full, and the digital NT Collection was available free in 85% of secondary schools and all local authorities.
Bookings were more last-minute than pre-pandemic, however, and audiences were more risk-averse. First-rate writing and casting, plus personal recommendations and reviews, were important factors.
Norris said: “Arguably the greatest creative challenge for our generation is the climate crisis. And that has quite rapidly become a key focus in everything we deliver here. We’re questioning our practice to minimise our impact on the environment.”
Last year, the NT hosted a conference attended by 2,500 people on making theatre green, and in September the NT plus the National Theatre Wales and the National Theatre of Scotland are convening a meeting of directors and artistic directors from across Britain on the issue.
The BLM movement had been “hugely crucial in moving our culture forward”, Norris said. Diversity had “enriched the arts” and “impacted on the breadth of our audience”.
When he took the helm of the NT in 2015, only one major theatre in London was led by a woman and none by a person of colour. But recently there had been “an extraordinary and very overdue shift in leadership representation”.
Norris said he supported increasing public funding to arts bodies outside London. “There has been an imbalance. But what I don’t agree with is diminishing support for what is the global city of arts … What London contributes to our creative status in the world outweighs the small amount of money involved.”
Theatre was the “foundation of the UK’s world-leading reputation”, and the NT was “the most prolific and arguably the most influential theatre in the world”.
Damon Buffini, the chair of the NT, said: “Rufus Norris has led the NT with extraordinary skill, foresight and resilience during a decade of huge change in the UK and globally. The NT’s artistic programme, as shaped by Rufus, has been exceptional in quality, prescience and popular appeal, reaching bigger audiences than at any time in the theatre’s history … Rufus’s legacy is already immense.”
The process of recruiting a new leader will begin immediately and is expected to take about six months.
