Abbey Theatre Will Mark 120 Years With Special Event

The Abbey Theatre has announced details of Spreading the News, a special event to mark 120 years of the National Theatre of Ireland, taking place on the Abbey Stage at 6pm on Sunday, 8th December. Presented in partnership with RTÉ, the event will be recorded in front of a live audience and broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 at 6pm on Friday, 27th December, 120 years to the day since the theatre opened in 1904. 

 

A number of tickets go on general sale today for this celebratory event and can be purchased through www.abbeytheatre.ie or in person at the theatre.

 

The event is named after the play of the same name, written by Abbey Theatre co-founder Lady Gregory, and performed on the opening night of the theatre. 

Spreading the News will celebrate and honour the founding notion that the Abbey Theatre was established as an experiment, a fundamental idea that continues to inform the work of the theatre today. 

 

The event will be led by a company of well-known Irish artists who have performed in the theatre over the years. They will play a range of scripts, characters and speeches, embracing the groundbreaking stories, work and performances that have been at the heart of the National Theatre of Ireland since its foundation, and will be accompanied by live music. 

 

Mindful of the Abbey Theatre's rich history while being boldly forward looking, Spreading the News will interrogate ideas of breaking and rebuilding, the need for a national theatre yesterday and today and look at how audiences and artists converse through the artform.

 

Commenting, Co-Directors of the Abbey Theatre, Artistic Director Caitríona McLaughlin and Executive Director Mark O'Brien, said: “Experiments have unknown outcomes, they can confuse, confound or outrage. They can prove or disprove hypotheses, raise questions and shake whole worldviews. This spirit of experimentation brought about the formation of the Abbey in 1904, and it is alive and well in 2024.

 

“Through words, performance and music, Spreading the News is an opportunity to reflect on this legacy of experimentation and possibility. We are grateful for the partnership of RTÉ to capture this moment in time and to ensure it is shared with as wide an audience as possible.”

 

Clíodhna Ní Anluain, RTÉ Arts and Culture producer for Spreading the News added: “RTÉ is delighted to partner with the Abbey Theatre in jointly presenting this live event on the Abbey Stage and as a sound experience for our audience on RTÉ Radio 1. RTÉ recognises and salutes the achievement of this milestone for our National Theatre, as the centenary of Irish broadcasting approaches. Our two cultural institutions capture, challenge and celebrate Irish life at home and internationally, as well as bringing international experience and expression to our audiences.

 

“Central to RTÉ are partnerships to attract the broadest audience, while supporting and fostering the brilliant range and diversity of Irish creative and performing artists. Lady Gregory was someone of unfailing determination, who pushed boundaries and experimented, so that we could know ourselves better. Like RTÉ, she recognised the power of the local to tell universal stories, embracing language, voices and experiences and putting them literally centre stage. We look forward to developing this important partnership with the Abbey Theatre into the future.”

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