Rufus Norris to step down as National Theatre leader in spring 2025

Director says past eight years ‘most challenging time in history’ for sector, but audience figures finally back at pre-pandemic levels

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.