Abbey Theatre Announces Updated Schedule For 2020

Directors of the Abbey Theatre, Graham McLaren and Neil Murray, today announced updates to the planned programme for October - December 2020:

"In the theatre community we physically come together to create and share our work. The necessary preventative measures, in place to stop the spread of COVID-19, have, certainly, hindered this process at the Abbey Theatre, but we have used all our powers to find ways to create opportunities to hear and share Ireland's artistic voice.

"Over the last 8 months, our programme and productions have been reinvented, revised and rethought... and then revised again. To stay true to our core function of bringing the work of Ireland's artists to the Nation, we have had to remain nimble. We have asked a lot of our colleagues at the Abbey and the artists we have worked with, and of our collaborators, partners, funders and supporters. We are so grateful to them for rising to each bespoke occasion with patience and passion. All understood the pursuit of getting these productions seen - either in person or online by Irish communities both at home and across the world.

"Theatre is nothing without an audience. We could scarcely have imagined the beauty that the 30+ artists brought to life for small groups of socially-distanced live audiences with our recent production of The Great Hunger outdoors in the grounds of IMMA. Or that over 235,000 tuned in to watch Ireland's national theatre from their homes this year. As we head into the colder, winter months, with the country currently in Level 5 restrictions, we, again, must shift and change a little from our original plan, to ensure that as many people as possible get an opportunity to experience these productions."

See below for individual updates to the production schedule, including a change of performance dates for the highly anticipated binaural production of Dracula, which will move into early 2021.

Also announced today is Engine Room - an investment in the development of 35 theatre projects over the next 12 weeks that will support the work of over 190 theatre-makers.

"As Directors of the Abbey Theatre, we conceived and created Engine Room to provide opportunities to theatre-makers throughout Ireland, in these most uncertain times. We believe that without a healthy freelance community of artists, Irish theatre, and Ireland itself will take much longer to recover from this global pandemic. We remain very proud of how the Abbey has met the many challenges of 2020, and we will, now, continue to fight to bring the work of your National Theatre to you, in person and online."

More details on Engine Room will be announced in the coming weeks and months.

To post a comment, you must register and login.