Abbey Theatre

The Abbey Theatre, also known as the National Theatre of Ireland, is located in Dublin, in Ireland. The Abbey first opened its doors to the public on 27 December, 1904 and, despite losing its original building to a fire in 1951, it has continued to stage performances more or less continuously to the present day. The Abbey was the first state-subsidised theatre in the English-speaking world; from 1925 onwards it received an annual subsidy from the Irish Free State.

The Abbey since 1966

The conjunction of a new building, a new generation of dramatists that included such figures as Hugh Leonard, Brian Friel and Tom Murphy, and the growth in Irish tourism with the National Theatre as a key cultural attraction helped to bring about a revival in the theatre's fortunes. This was further assisted by the theatre's continuing involvement in the Dublin Theatre Festival, which began in 1957.

Related Topics:
Hugh Leonard - Brian Friel - Tom Murphy - Dublin Theatre Festival - 1957

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Plays such as Friel's Philadelphia Here I Come (1964), The Faith Healer (1979) and Dancing at Lughnasa (1990), Murphy's Whistle in the Dark (1961) and The Gigli Concert (1983) and Leonard's Da (1973) and A Life (1980) helped raise the Abbey's international profile through their successful runs in London and on Broadway. However, despite these and other successes, the Abbey has continued to play to less-than-full houses, averaging less than half capacity in the centenary year, 2004.

Related Topics:
1964 - 1979 - 1990 - 1961 - 1983 - 1973 - 1980 - London - Broadway - 2004

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The conjunction of projected debts at the end of 2004 of ?2.5 million together with reduced state funding, a recovery plan involving the loss of one third of the jobs at the theatre, and some bad feeling from the earlier winding down of the repertory company led to calls for the dismissal of artistic director Ben Barnes. On 6 September, Mr Barnes survived a vote of the board but his survival plan was shelved. The controversy rumbled on with the publication a few days later of the text of an e-mail he sent to some international colleagues in which he was highly critical of his employers. He later apologised to the board. On 14 September, the Arts Council of Ireland announced the setting up of an independent review into ways in which it could support the theatre through this crisis. A further complication facing the Abbey in its centenary year is the fact that, with the current theatre flagged as a potential safety hazard, a long-running search for a site for a new building continues with no immediate end in sight. In December 2004, the theatre celebrated its centenary with a range of events, including performances of the original programme by amateur dramatic groups from around the country.

Related Topics:
Ben Barnes - 6 September - 14 September - Arts Council of Ireland

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On May 12th, 2005 Barnes and Managing Director Brian Jackson resigned after it was discovered that a serious error in the company's financial reporting had resulted in a serious underestimation of the theatre's deficit of ?1.85 million.

Related Topics:
May 12th - 2005 - Brian Jackson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On 20 August 2005, the Abbey Theatre Advisory Council approved a plan which will see the Abbey's owners, the National Theatre Society, being dissolved and replaced by a company limited by guarentee, the Abbey Theatre Limited. This was done after the Arts Council of Ireland decided to withold any further funding from the theatre pending the resolution of its financial crisis. The new company is expected to be established in September 2005.

Related Topics:
20 August - 2005 - Company limited by guarentee - Arts Council of Ireland

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~