Rufus Norris’s announced departure from the National Theatre last week sounds the starting gun for its own succession drama: who is in line for the biggest job in UK theatre? Will the NT reach for a safe pair of hands at a time when arts funding is squeezed and theatre is clawing back revenue lost over the pandemic? Or will it continue Norris’s project of opening up the venue to new audiences and daring to be different? The theatre may well follow the trend for appointing co-directors rather than a single figurehead, to balance risk with tradition. Several high-profile artistic directors have recently left their jobs so there is a lot of talent in the system. Here is the Guardian’s shortlist of potential contenders:
1. Indhu Rubasingham
