Imelda Staunton: Indhu Rubasingham is "the Right Person for the Job"

Actor Imelda Staunton has said that Indhu Rubasingham is the right person for the job, as it was announced that Rubasingham will be The National Theatre's first female artistic director in its 60-year history and the first person of colour to take on the role.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour about the release of the last episodes of the final season of The Crown, she said that, as they are good friends, Rubasingham had called her last night (12 December) to tell her the news.

Staunton said "I'm over the moon, she is the right person for the job, not because she is a woman or a person of colour...she has turned the Kiln Theatre around and this couldn't happen to a better candidate."

Rubasingham will move to the National after stepping down from the Kiln theatre, which she has run for more than a decade. She will replace the National's current director Rufus Norris in 2025.

Born in Sheffield and with Sri-Lankan heritage, she will be the seventh director since the National was founded by Sir Laurence Olivier in 1963.

Staunton also recalled an occasion in her appearance in Follies, where she discovered a mouse was hiding in the sleeve of her costume. She carried on with the show regardless, albeit with a lot of extra arm movement to try and displace the rodent!

Staunton's comments follow a wave of congratulations on social media to Rubasingham and The National Theatre, following the announcement.