National Theatre’s Kate Varah Champions Global Vision as Co-Chief Executive Reveals Bold New Chapter: ‘Unleashing Human Potential, Sparking New Ideas’

In a sweeping transformation of Britain’s most prestigious theatrical institution, Kate Varah, co-chief executive of the U.K.’s National Theatre, has unveiled ambitious plans for the organization’s future alongside director and co-chief executive Indhu Rubasingham. The pair’s vision positions global reach, artistic innovation, and audience accessibility at the core of the National’s strategy.

“The National Theater is a truly national theater, but we are now a global theater as well,” Varah tells Variety. “We’re most interested in how can we get the widest range of work to the widest range of people in the widest range of ways.”

Rubasingham’s inaugural season features 16 productions, including nine world premieres that artfully balance reimagined classics with contemporary voices. Rubasingham will direct Euripides’ “Bacchae” adapted by Nima Taleghani, marking the first-ever debut play to be staged on the Olivier Theatre’s main stage.

“Indhu was so excited by the freshness and honesty and the disruptive nature of Nima’s writing,” Varah explains. “What she really loved is this idea that you’ve got a classic like “Bacchae” that is being adapted by a really contemporary, really exciting debut playwright, and the relationship between the old and the new, the heritage and the renewal.”

The season boldly pairs established stars with groundbreaking material. Nicola Coughlan, Éanna Hardwicke and Siobhán McSweeney will star in John Millington Synge’s “The Playboy of the Western World,” directed by Caitríona McLaughlin, Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre.

Letitia Wright will star in “The Story” by American playwright Tracey Scott Wilson, directed by National Theatre Artistic Associate Clint Dyer, while director Marianne Elliott returns to helm “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” with Monica Barbaro, Lesley Manville and Aidan Turner.

Paul Mescal will make his National Theatre debut in two complementary repertory productions – Tom Murphy’s “A Whistle in the Dark” and Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” – marking the return of repertory theatre to the Lyttleton for the first time since 2020.

“The actors that have come in, all of them are excited about doing rep,” Varah says. “The spirit of rep sits quite high in people’s agenda for why they want to be at the National Theater.”

The National Theatre’s digital footprint has expanded dramatically in recent years, with its streaming service now reaching 184 countries worldwide. “We were given some money by Bloomberg to jet propel our streaming service during COVID,” Varah notes. “In three years, that has grown exponentially.”

NT Live broadcasts continue to draw substantial cinema audiences, regularly breaking into the U.K. box office top 10. “What we show on NT live is also really important to us,” Varah says. “It’s important that we get that mix. Because if you feed people a diet of one type of show through NT live, because it might have box office appeal, you might be missing out on the diversity and the richness and the excitement of another piece of work.”

This global ambition extends to education, with the National Theatre Collection now available in 90% of U.K. state secondary schools and expanding to 200 schools in New York City, with plans to reach more U.S. schools over the next three years.

“How do you sort of help grow that audience of the future, and more broadly, how do you make sure that work that is resonant for them in the classroom, that their teachers might not have enough resource to deliver or access to the live experience to share with them?” Varah asks. “Our strategy is to ensure that we can share that as widely as possible.”

New partnerships with The Shed and BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) in New York will further cement the National’s transatlantic presence as it celebrates 60 years of presenting work in the United States. “We are building up to a sort of big celebration of that and leaning into our relationships with all of our nonprofit partners there,” Varah explains. The collaborations will bring National Theatre productions to American stages, digital work to cinemas, and educational programs to Brooklyn communities.

A significant new partnership with Bank of America will accelerate the National Theatre Skills Centre’s nationwide expansion, aiming to reach 15,000 individuals over the next three years through training programs and career support initiatives.

“Something like 92% of our apprentices end up working immediately after they leave us, and most of them within the creative industries,” Varah says. The initiative will introduce paid production placements on every South Bank show, creating pathways into the industry for underrepresented groups.

The National Theatre is actively expanding its artistic boundaries through innovative collaborations. A new musical adaptation of the film “Pride” will debut, developed with P&P Productions. “We were delighted that they chose the Dorfman to be the crucible for the first iteration of ‘Pride,’” Varah says.

Two regional companies, LUNG and Middle Child, will become the first National Theatre Resident Companies. “Having a resident company is a two way exchange,” Varah notes. “The kind of work that they’re doing is something that Indhu and our artistic team here, and I am really excited about.”

For the first time, the National Theatre will collaborate with the Unicorn Theatre to co-produce a touring production, “The Last Wild,” which will visit venues and schools across England. “These partnerships are really brilliant because it allows the kind of scale and reach and range of the national to be paired with specialists in their area, and together, we can amplify our impact,” Varah says.

Despite the extensive plans and global ambitions, Varah acknowledges significant challenges, particularly around infrastructure funding. “What keeps me up at night is the responsibility of ensuring that we, as the current custodians of the National Theater, honor the past and hand on something for the future custodians of real value,” she says, noting a £200 million ($267.4 million) capital need over the next decade.

“There is, at the moment, a real crisis of funding when it comes to capital infrastructure,” Varah explains. “There’s been no funding for any of our big state organizations from a capital perspective in the performing arts for decades.”

Nevertheless, the vision remains firmly focused on audience development and cultural impact. “I feel excited by the opportunity to reach more people in more places around the world with work that excites them, in places they feel welcome, and with stories that move them,” Varah concludes. “Unleashing human potential, sparking new ideas, bringing people together, that’s what makes me happy.”