Herald Angel Sings for the Gate

On Saturday the Gate Theatre won the prestigious Herald Angel Award at Edinburgh for its Gate|Friel festival - a trilogy of plays by Irish playwright Brain Friel: Faith Healer, Afterplay, and The Yalta Game.

The Arts Council chairwoman Pat Moylan said: "coming hot on the heels of the success of Elaine Murphy's Little Gem [co-produced by Gúna Nua and Civic Theatre Tallaght], this is more great news from the Irish arts sector. Once again we see an example of the way Irish theatre holds its own all over the world, and it is fitting that the work of Brian Friel, in the year of his eightieth birthday, should be honoured in this way."

Ms. Moylan went on to say: "this demonstrates how the strategic partnership between the Arts Council, as the funder of so much original and innovative Irish work, and Culture Ireland, as the agency responsible for promoting that work overseas, can achieve significant results of which all Irish people can be rightly proud. Here's to more home-grown work wowing audiences at home before taking the world by storm in the years ahead -- despite the economic gloom! The message which can be taken from these successes when it comes to Ireland's international reputation is clear and simple: art matters."

There will be twenty performances of the Gate|Friel season at the Gate Theatre in Dublin, from today until Saturday 19 September.