Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 December 2020
259. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if her attention been drawn to calls to initiate a pilot project for reopening theatres; her views on the feasibility of such a pilot; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43526/20]
View answerI am pleased to be able to give details of my announcement last Sunday of the live test performances that will start to take place from this weekend.
There will be a performance of the Irish Chamber Orchestra at the National Concert Hall on Saturday 19 December at lunchtime. The NCH will welcome back its live audience for the first time since March.
There will also be a production at the Abbey Theatre by Landmark Productions and Octopus Theatricals of an innovative programme entitled Theatre for One for a limited run from Friday 18 December.
Theatre for One will comprise of six five minute plays by leading Irish playwrights
- Marina Carr;
- Stacey Gregg;
- Emmet Kirwan;
- Louise Lowe;
- Mark O’Rowe; and
- Enda Walsh.
Each original 5-minute play will be performed by one actor, for one audience member in a specially designed booth. This is scheduled to run on the 18th, 19th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd of December. Following that, a variation entitled Theatre for One (and a Little One) - for one adult and one child aged ten or under will run on the 29th, 30th and 31st of December, in co-production with the Abbey Theatre and featuring newly commissioned work by Roddy Doyle, Sonya Kelly, Louis Lovett and Pauline McLynn.
My Department will continue to work with the Arts Council, the National Culture Institutions, Theatre Forum and other stakeholders to ensure the safe return of the sector. I am very conscious of the important role that theatre plays in Irish society, in terms of its contribution to employment for artists and arts workers, as an art form which engages and connects society, and in providing a source of well-being support. Further details of this initiative are available at
https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/f0c2e-minister-martin-announces-test-live-performance-events-from-later-this-week/
