Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to talk about casting. The national theatre is expected to punch way above its weight in original works that receive international critical and commercial success. I am very aware of the new playwright programme and its importance to develop the writer and not just the play. The Peacock has been described as the engine room of Irish theatre. I have seen plays in the Peacock recently that could and should be on the main Abbey stage. Does Mr. Murray accept that Irish theatre will not survive, or that we will not have another Brian Friel, with the policy of old revivals and recent reruns, and the buying in of international productions?