Mr. Neil Murray:

I thank Senator Warfield for his questions. It is great to have the opportunity to engage in this discussion. When Mr. Graham McLaren and I came to the Abbey Theatre, there was absolutely a hunger for change and a more open philosophy in its relationship with artists and companies which had previously not been given opportunities there. It was never our intention to make the Abbey Theatre an organisation that did not produce its own works. As we said, in 2019 that number is up to seven shows again, which is pretty much in line with what the Abbey Theatre has been doing in the past seven or eight years, prior to Mr. McLaren and I taking over.

The co-productions come from an artistic and creative impulse and from meetings with organisations who approach us with ideas to tell important stories on the national stage. We are, for example, about to do the first co-production in 2019 with THEATREclub. What people might see as double funding, we see as enhancement. An organisation can come to the Abbey with a relatively small amount of money for a show. We then sit down with them and ask how much they need to make the show the way they really want to make it. That includes absolutely paying them at the rate they should be paid, as if they are working for the Abbey Theatre. We add a sum of money, which enhances their budget and it means THEATREclub gets to make a show on the main stage of the Abbey theatre, in a way they could not have done elsewhere. They could have made the show but with less resources and potentially not pay at the rate they are able to because of what the Abbey is giving them. Our aim is to absolutely step up the level of self-produced work. That is in our bones and is what we as theatre makers want to do. We want to keep the positive sense of collaboration and openness at the Abbey coming in. The 2019 programme is effectively in place with the seven self-produced shows, a couple of co-productions, and some still to be determined through discussions with the Arts Council.

As we start to look forward to 2020, in the longer term as the Senator has put it, starting this week we will be in discussion with our colleagues to hopefully take advantage of the extraordinary talent in Ireland and the extraordinary potential opportunity here. The Abbey wants to be part of that and wants to make positive engagement with the community. We have been doing that with a lot of people who have had access to the Abbey and who previously did not. Clearly we have to make redress with people who are dissatisfied with that model. We are listening, we want to talk and we want to engage.