Arts Funding Cuts

The Stage reports that the Arts Council has cut the funding of the Abbey Theatre by over €1 million.

This is part of the Arts Council's budget cuts due to its reduction in funds in the recent budget from €73.35 million in 2009 to €69.15 million for 2010.

Overall theatre funding for the year has been cut from €16,311,000 to €13,327,000. The Abbey takes the largest share of that - its allocation has been reduced from €8.35 million last year to a current figure of €7.25 million. Opera also loses, with funding cut from €3.9 million to €3.6 million, as do dance and music.

As part of the regional emphasis, both local arts and festivals and events each receives funding of over €2 million, though that is less than last year. Street arts and spectacle, as well as circus, also win financial support, though again at a reduced level. In all, 313 companies face funding cuts, with just 24 having the same level of financial support as last year.

However, the council did have some good news to announce: it has established a new fund for touring and has reduced its overall administrative budget by 30% from its 2008 level.

New Abbey Debate

The Stage reported yesterday that Martin Cullen, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, plans an early decision on the proposal to move the Abbey theatre to the GPO on Dublin's O'Connell Street, which he strongly favours.

The minister argues that relocating the Abbey makes sense, socially and economically. It would rejuvenate O'Connell Street, he says, while the move to the GPO would cost only €80-€90 million, compared with the €150-€170 million that was expected to be spent on rebuilding the theatre on an alternative docklands site.

The Abbey move has been proposed in a recently revised government plan agreed by the two partners in the current Coalition administration, Fianna Fail and the Green Party, with a grand opening suggested for 2016, the centenary of the Rising. A feasibility study of the proposal is now under way.

However, Cullen has revealed that before the issue came into public debate, "a very good international architect, who has worked with theatres", had prepared a model of how the Abbey might be relocated to the GPO. He was shown the model, which had involved a huge amount of research. "I know it works. I saw it all and it's fantastic," he said.

But the Irish National Conservation and Heritage Group takes a very different view. Its spokesman, Damien Cassidy, described the proposed Abbey move as "ludicrous and crazy" and said it would succeed only in destroying two national monuments, the theatre and the GPO.

According to Cassidy, the GPO should be retained in its present role as a national monument. The Abbey move was "being pushed by an elitist group", he claimed, and his organisation was planning a campaign to stop any interference with what he called "one of the most iconic buildings in Irish history".

The Abbey Stays Put

The Irish Times reports today that the Abbey Theatre will remain in its current location for at least another five to six years as the Office of Public Works (OPW) has initiated a feasibility study on the possibility of relocating it in the GPO.

Minister of State for the OPW Martin Mansergh said a "considerable degree of pressure has been taken off the Abbey Theatre" because of its recent refurbishment. "It is quite happy it will be able to continue for the next five or six years until a new site is developed, hopefully in time for the centenary of the Rising in 2016."

He told the Dáil that to date €219,590.32 had been spent in the development of a new national theatre. The Government had originally decided to relocate the Abbey to a site at George's dock.

Dr Mansergh said the work done was "project specific", not "site specific", and "the vast majority of it could be transferred into the GPO if that is the decision".

Fine Gael arts spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell described the GPO proposal as a "red herring" and said the preparation for a design competition had been going on for years. "Three Ministers have dealt with it and it still has not been announced." She would have loved the GPO as a location "if it had come up five or six years ago when it was first announced". But she was concerned that "it is merely a time-wasting exercise".

The Next Stage

The Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival in association with Theatre Forum and the Abbey Theatre, with funding by the Arts Council, is organising a two-week programme aimed at performing artists and creators called The Next Stage.

Eighteen people will be selected to take part in a programme of master classes, talks, physical workshops and performances to broaden and deepen their experience of theatre from conception to performance.

The programme takes advantage of the unique opportunities presented by Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival and the world-class directors, playwrights, actors and designers who will be in town during the Festival.

Key information:
Dates: It begins Thursday 24 September and ends Sunday 11 October 2009. N.B The programme is intensive. It involves seeing 19 shows so you are out almost every night and participating in workshops all day including Saturdays!
Times: 10am - 6pm daily with performances most evenings.
Participation fee: (including 19 performances and all workshops and talks) €250

The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 21 August.

All information on now to apply is available from the web site.

Abbey Job Losses

The Stage reports that there are likely to be job losses at the Abbey theatre in Dublin, as negotiations on redundancies get underway.

The spokeswoman was keen to stress that the job cuts do not signal a new financial emergency at the Abbey.

"We are not in crisis – the action we are taking is to avoid being forced into a crisis next year or the year after," she said. "We are simply taking precautions in what is a difficult economic climate for everyone."

Abbey director Fiach MacConghail echoed that sentiment in a message to staff, in which he praised the "highly skilled workforce" and called the proposed job cuts regrettable.

"The theatre itself is now a well managed organisation and we are not currently in deficit," he said. "However, the times we are living in compel us to take action sooner rather than later to avoid an otherwise inevitable financial crisis in the coming years."

2008 Stewart Parker Award

The 2008 Stewart Parker Award for new playwrights was awarded to Newry playwright Abbie Spallen last week at an event in the Abbey Theatre attended by President Mary McAleese.

Two further awards - The BBC Northern Ireland Radio Drama Award and The BBC Northern Ireland Irish Language Drama Award - were awarded to Elaine Murphy and Seán Ó Morónaigh respectively.

Set up in honour of the late Belfast playwright, Stewart Parker, the Stewart Parker Trust seeks to encourage new writing for the theatre in Ireland.

This year marks the 21st anniversary of Parker's death and the 20th year of the Awards.

Abbey Finances Healthy

An article on the Irish Times today summarises the latest report on the state of the Abbey Theatre's finances from 2006-2008, which was launched yesterday.

During that three-year period the Abbey Theatre received a record investment of €25.7 million from the Arts Council through the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism to alleviate a fiscal crisis. The national theatre is expected to move to its new home in George's Dock by 2016, according to the Minister of State Martin Mansergh.

The report, which makes a strong case for reorganisation and State investment, points to the radical restructuring of the company under director Fiach Mac Conghail, an increase in attendance of 19 per cent between 2006 and 2008, and the redesign and improvement of its main auditorium in 2007. It also cites the theatre’s re-engagement and collaboration with Irish and international writers such as Marina Carr, Roddy Doyle, Brian Friel, Séamus Heaney, Conor McPherson, Paul Mercier, Tom Murphy, Mark O’Rowe and Sam Shepard.

The review includes a recent economic impact study commissioned by the Abbey, where Prof Dominic Shellard, of the University of Sheffield, and Derrick Elliss found the theatre generated €3.60 for every €1 of funding over the three years, contributing €118 million to the Irish economy.

Over the period, 32 productions were staged. They were seen by 375,000 people and employed 309 actors (and nearly 800 actors had work in productions, readings and workshops). Seven shows were world premieres and four were Irish premieres, including Conor McPherson's The Seafarer and John Patrick Shanley's Doubt.

Mr Mac Conghail said the theatre was in a healthy and successful position. "We promised our artists, audiences and the taxpayer that we would commit to change and provide great theatre to our citizens and I believe we have achieved this. I believe strongly there is a need for the Abbey to provide leadership and support to our writers, theatre makers and our audiences . . . and we are in a position to deliver on this promise."

The report notes that the Abbey recorded a surplus of €3,361,868 at the end of the period, because of factors including prudent budgeting, tighter cost-control, later-than-expected rollout of some plans and an increase in box office income. The surplus will offset the 16.5 per cent reduction in the National Theatre's Arts Council grant for 2009.

New Abbey Will Go Ahead

The Stage reports that Martin Cullen, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, has pledged that the new Abbey Theatre will be completed despite the Irish government's difficult economic situation.

The information came out of an exchange between Cullen and opposition party spokeswoman on the arts, Olivia Mitchell of Fine Gael, during a recent Dáil session.

"It's incredible it could take so long," she said. "It is not as if the minister is designing the building - he's merely presiding over the drawing up of competition guidelines for someone else to design it. If that process can take years, as it has, how long will it take to build the theatre? The project has turned into a dramatic saga to rival anything the Abbey might stage."

But the minister insisted progress was being made. "The project is complex," he said. "There is a myriad of technical, procedural and legal factors to address, but the final work is being done at the moment."

A free site has been provided for the theatre in the Dublin docklands and the project is to be developed on a 'build, finance and maintain basis' through a public-private partnership arrangement.

Mitchell questioned whether it was realistic to depend on public-private partnerships in the current uncertain economic conditions. "Was the project really being put on the long finger?", she asked.

In reply, the minister said that delivering the new theatre was a top government priority. The design competition would get under way shortly, he promised, and added: "I am confident that when the competition is complete, we will have a world class design for a new iconic building for the city."

O'Rowe Wins Fringe First

The Culture Ireland web site reports that the Abbey Theatre's production of Terminus, written by Irish playwright Mark O'Rowe, has won a prestigious Scotsman Fringe First Award.

The Fringe First Awards, selected by The Scotsman's team of veteran theatre critics, are given to outstanding new work appearing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and are highly coveted among the thousands of new plays produced at the festival. This UK premiere of Terminus has been generously supported by Culture Ireland.

Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Martin Cullen TD, congratulated Ireland's national theatre and playwright, O'Rowe, on their award and said, "This award for the production of Terminus by the Abbey Theatre, following Druid Theatre's award last week, is a validation of the continuing strength of Irish theatre and an important international recognition of the talent of our young Irish playwrights".

Also commending the Abbey, the Chief Executive of Culture Ireland, Eugene Downes, claimed, "Winning two Fringe Firsts, in the intense competition of Edinburgh, affirms Irish theatre's position as a world leader. It's a marvelous achievement for Mark O'Rowe, The Abbey, and a great cast and creative team."

Terminus runs at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh until Saturday 23 August.

Abbey Funding

RTÉ reports that the Abbey Theatre will receive €30.2m from The Arts Council in a funding plan which will run from 2009 - 2011.

The agreement is the second such arrangement between the Government body and the Dublin-based theatre, following a previous investment from 2006 - 2008, which saw The Abbey recover from a financial crisis in 2005

The new funding is designed to allow the Abbey roll out an ambitious theatre programme, which will include the presentation of new plays by Irish writers each year on both the national and international stage.

Under the new agreement, the theatre will receive €9.2m in 2009, €10.0m in 2010 and €11.0m in 2011 totalling €30.2m.

Speaking about the announcement today, Olive Braiden, chair of The Arts Council said: "The Arts Council is very proud of its role in putting the Abbey back on a sound and sustainable financial footing, and we're delighted to be able to announce another three-year funding arrangement for the theatre."

Abbey Progress

The Stage reports that the Irish government has awarded a €450,000 contract to British theatre consultants Charcoalblue to advise on the planning and building of the new Abbey in Dublin's docklands.

According to a spokesman for the Office of Public Works, which has charge of the project, the competition details are still being finalised. He was unable to say when that part of the project would be completed, but felt the appointment of the consultants would speed up matters.

The lengthy delay has reopened the controversy over the location of the new Abbey, with some critics urging the government to look again at the Carlton site on O'Connell Street, where a major development is about to get under way, and which many feel would be a more suitable home for a national theatre.

There have also been concerns about the impact of the credit crunch on the project. The theatre is to be built under a public/private partnership arrangement, aimed at limiting state expenditure. But some developers have been pulling out of such schemes, citing the changed economic climate.

However, in awarding the Charcoalblue contract, the government is seen as signalling it is confident the project will go ahead.

Abbey Theatre face-lift

According to RTÉ the Abbey Theatre has announced the details of the €730,000 redesign of its auditorium space.

The project, which is due to take 10 days, involves the complete removal of the present seating and the installation of a new raked floor.

The new auditorium will hold 492 seats and also provide two designated wheelchair places.

According to the theatre, sightlines and acoustics will be significantly improved.

Long terms plans for the Abbey include a re-location to the Docklands by 2010 in a theatre designed by the winner of a juried competition.

exits and entrances

There's an article on The Stage about the closure of Dublin's Andrew's Lane Theatre.

Owner and artistic director Pat Moylan said it had been a very difficult decision to sell what she regarded as "a small jewel in the heart of the city", but that the theatre needed extensive renovation and she could not afford the cost. A leaky roof spilling rain into the auditorium in recent weeks testified to the urgent need for repairs.

The article goes on to report that John O'Donoghue, Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, has said that "an international design competition for the new Abbey will be launched shortly and that a jury has already been established to select the winning entry." Mr. O'Donoghue believes that after the selection the construction of the new Abby will take a mere 18 months.

I've noticed that politicians seeking re-election are awfully optimistic.