Irish theatre professionals and stage writers have accused the Abbey Theatre of reneging on commitments to produce more plays in-house and more new Irish drama, with writers adding that they no longer have confidence in the Abbey board. The Abbey responded with commitments to produce more in-house shows and pay Abbey rates for workers on coproductions; it also reinstated a casting-director role. “The Abbey Theatre reconvened as requested with a representative group of the signatories for a further two meetings, in June and July 2019. The programme as outlined “currently offers 38 job opportunities for actors in 2020 directly employed by The Abbey Theatre”, the signatories write. “Consequently, the Writers’ Guild of Ireland no longer has confidence in the board of the Abbey Theatre.”

Source: The Irish Times December 10, 2019 17:16 UTC