Abbey Theater

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Abbey Theater 2006

The Abbey Theater ( Irish Amharclann na Mainistreach ) is the Irish national theater in Dublin , Ireland . It was founded in 1904 to show the work of Irish authors and Irish subjects and to contribute to Ireland's cultural identity. It has received government subsidies since 1925, making it the first state-subsidized theater in the English-speaking world. After a fire in 1951, the ensemble used the Queen's Theater until the Abbey Theater was rebuilt in 1966 and today can seat 628 spectators.

The poet William Butler Yeats and the writer Isabella Augusta Gregory were next to Edward Martyn et al. a. Founders and directors of the theater in which the first play was performed on December 27, 1904. In the early years the theater was closely associated with the writers of the Irish Literary Revival (also known as Celtic Twilight ) and served as a stage for many Irish playwrights and actors of the 20th century. In addition, the many guest appearances abroad, especially in North America, have contributed to the fact that the theater is an important carrier of Irish tourism.

The Abbey Theater premiered plays by Irish writers, including works by Yeats and Gregory, as well as John Millington Synge , George William Russell and Seán O'Casey . It is known for its productions of works from the early 20th century.

In recent years, young artists and drama students have also been promoted, and the Abbey Theater has its own experimental stage, the Peacock Theater , where plays from the Abbey School of Acting are performed. The Abbey Theater also shows plays in Irish .

In front of the abbey

The foundation of the Abbey is due to the coming together of three forces.

The first was the failed Irish Literary Theater . Founded in 1899 by WB Yeats , Lady Gregory , George Moore and Edward Martyn , the theater presented a number of plays in the Ancient Concert Room and the Gaiety Theater that were not well received by the audience.

The second was the work of brothers William and Frank Fay . William worked for a group of traveling actors in Ireland, Scotland and Wales for a period in the 1880s , while his brother Frank was involved in amateur theater in Dublin. After William returned, the siblings began performing plays on various stages in Dublin. Ultimately, they founded WG Fay's Irish National Dramatic Company , which was dedicated to promoting Irish acting talent. In April 1902 the Fays gave three performances of Æ's play Deirdre and Yeats' Cathleen Ní Houlihan at St. Theresa's Hall in Dublin. The performance was primarily aimed at working class audiences rather than the usual Dublin middle class theater-goers. It became a huge hit , largely thanks to Maud Gonne's appearance in Yeats' play.

The third element was the presence of Annie Horniman . Horniman was an Englishwoman who had previous experience with theater production, such as B. the presentation of George Bernard Shaws Arms and Man in London . She came to Dublin in 1903 to work unpaid for the production of The King's Threshold as Yeats's secretary. It was her money that made the Abbey possible.

Foundation of the Abbey

Poster of the Abbey for the opening night

In light of the success of the St. Theresa's Hall venture, the Irish National Theater Society was founded in 1903 by Yeats as President, Lady Gregory, E. Martyn, and John Millington Synge . The funds came from Annie Horniman. The pieces were initially performed at Molesworth Hall. When the Hibernian Theater of Varieties on Lower Abbey Street and an adjoining building became available after the local Fire Safety Commission had closed them, Horniman and William Fay decided to purchase the buildings and remodel them as the society wanted. Since Horniman was not a citizen of Ireland, she had to acquire a Royal Letters patent, for which Lady Gregory vouched. William Fay was appointed theater manager and was given responsibility for training the actors. Yeats' brother Jack Yeats was commissioned to draw portraits of the leading members of the society for the foyer and Sarah Purser designed stained glass for the same purpose.

On December 27th, the curtains opened for the opening night. The screening consisted of three one-act plays, On Baile's Strand and Cathleen Ní Houlihan by Yeats and Spreading the News by Lady Gregory. On the second evening, In the Shadow of the Glen was played by Synge in place of the second piece by Yeats. The two rows alternated over five evenings. Frank Fay, who played the role of Cuchulainn from On Baile's Strand , was the first actor to take the stage at the Abbey. Although Horniman designed the costumes, neither she nor Lady Gregory were present. Horniman had returned to England and her main work for the Abbey in the years that followed consisted of funding, public relations and organizing tours for the Abbey of London and smaller local theaters.

In 1905, Yeats, Lady Gregory and Synge decided to convert the Abbey into a GmbH . Since they skipped Horniman felt she was being treated badly and hired Ben Iden Payne , a former employee of the Abbey, to set up her new theater company in Manchester . Lead actors Máire Nic Shiubhlaigh, Honor Lavelle (Helen Laird), Emma Vernon, Máire Garvey, Frank Walker, Seamus O'Sullivan, Pádraic Colum and George Roberts also left the company.

The early years

The new theater became a huge success with large audiences for most of the productions. It was also fortunate to have one of the best English-language writers in Synge as an important member. The theater also performed plays by well-known or soon to be known authors such as Yeats, Lady Gregory, Moore, Martyn, Padraic Colum , Oliver St. John Gogarty , FR Higgins , Thomas MacDonagh (one of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising ), TC Murray and Lennox Robinson up. Many of these authors were also on the theater's board of directors, with the result that it gained an ongoing reputation as a theater of writers.

A crisis broke out in January 1907. At the premiere of Synges The Playboy of the Western World , a theater scandal and violent tumult broke out, which first took place in the theater and later on the surrounding streets and had to be stopped by the police. Irish nationalists said that the play was not political enough and that its immoral language violated the dignity of Ireland, especially of Irish women. The end of the premiere was performed as a pantomime.

Although press opinion soon turned against the critics and protests (known as the Playboy Riots ) ebbed, the Abbey was shaken and Synge's next (and last completed) play, The Tinker's Wedding (1908), was not performed for fear of further disruption.

In the same year the Fay brothers' relationship with the theater ended and they emigrated to the USA , and day-to-day operations were taken over by Lennox Robinson. When all theaters were closed on May 7, 1910, in honor of the late King Edward VII , Robinson (involuntarily) kept the theater open; Horniman then severed all relations with the Abbey. By her own estimate she had spent £ 10,350 of her own money on the project by then, a substantial sum at the time.

With the loss of Horniman, Synge and the Fays, Robinson’s Abbey bobbed around, suffering from waning public interest and a lack of box office revenues. This trend was stopped by Seán O'Casey , who inherited Synge. O'Casey's career began with The Shadow of a Gunman , which was performed at the Abbey in 1923. This was followed by Juno and the Paycock (1924) and The Plow and the Stars (1926). The last piece led to glitches reminiscent of those in Playboy 19 years earlier. Terrified by the public reaction, O'Casey's next play was rejected and he emigrated shortly afterwards.

The Abbey according to Yeats

In 1924, Yeats and Lady Gregory offered the Abbey to the Government of the Free State of Ireland as a gift to the Irish people. Despite reluctance from the Treasury, the offer was accepted, mainly because of the theater's support for Irish-language plays. As a result, the Abbey became the first state-sponsored theater company in the English-speaking world in 1925. The following year the Abbey School of Acting and the Abbey School of Ballet were established. The ballet school, which closed again in 1933, was headed by Ninette de Valois , who also choreographed some pieces by Yeats.

At that time, more space was purchased and a small experimental theater, The Peacock, began operating under the main stage. In 1928, Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammoir began to perform plays by important European and American authors on the Peacock stage through the Gate Theater . The Gate later sought new Irish authors to perform their plays, and an example shows how deep the Abbey had sunk at the time. Denis Johnston sent his first piece of Shadowdance to the Abbey, where it was promptly rejected by Lady Gregory, who wrote the words "The Old Lady says No" on the cover. Johnston gave his play a new name and in 1928 it was performed on the Peacock stage by the Gate. The new name was The Old Lady Says 'No' .

The Abbey's tradition as an author's theater survived Yeats's withdrawal from day-to-day business. For example, Frank O'Connor served on the board from 1935 to 1939, as director in 1937, and had two plays performed during his tenure. The 1940s and 50s were the low point in attendance, which just the presence of popular actors like FJ McCormick and writers like George Shiels didn't drop. Another tenant of the Abbey was Austin Clarke's Dublin Verse Speaking Society , later the Lyric Theater , which played first the Peacock and then the main stage. On July 18, 1951, the Abbey was destroyed by fire and only the Peacock survived. The company rented the old Queen's Theater in September and used this makeshift facility until 1966. The Queen's was home to the Happy Gang , a group of comedians who performed skits, burlesques and pantomime in front of large audiences. With their peasant comedies, the Queen's new tenants were not far from the old ones. In February 1961, the ruins of the Abbeys were demolished and reconstruction began under the direction of Irish architect Michael Scott . On September 3, 1963, Irish President Eamon de Valera laid the foundation stone for the new theater, which opened its doors on July 18, 1966.

The Abbey since 1966

The interaction of the new building, a new generation of writers like Hugh Leonard , Brian Friel and Tom Murphy, and the growth of tourism with the National Theater as one of the attractions helped rejuvenate the theater. The Dublin Theater Festival , which has been held since 1957 and in which the Abbey participated, was also a factor.

Pieces like Friels Philadelphia Here I Come (1964), The Faith Healer (1979) and Dancing at Lughnasa (1990), Murphys Whistle in the Dark (1961) and The Gigli Concert (1983) as well as Leonards Da (1973) and A Life ( 1980) helped the Abbey strengthen its international profile with successful performances in London's West End and on Broadway . Despite these and other successes, most of the screenings were poorly attended and in 2004, the year of its centenary, fewer than half of the seats were occupied.

The Abbey Theater is currently looking for a new building as the new theater is also a security risk.

swell

Offline

On-line

Web links

Coordinates: 53 ° 20 ′ 55 "  N , 6 ° 15 ′ 26"  W.