Mr. Neil Murray:

Chairman, Deputies, Senators, colleagues, the approach adopted by the Abbey from 2017 onwards, in line with a strategy agreed with the Abbey board, has been to develop a national theatre that, as Mr. Conlon said, is artist-led and audience-focused. We believe our national theatre should be a people's theatre at the heart of Ireland's civic and social life, a theatre for all, regardless of where in the country one lives or the amount of money in one's pocket. Central to the history and legacy of the Abbey Theatre is its role as a producing theatre. This continues to be at the heart of our activity. For example, 2018 featured acclaimed productions of Marina Carr's "On Raftery's Hill", and "Come On Home" by Phillip McMahon, featuring a performance by my colleague here, Mr. Conlon.

The run of "Jimmy’s Hall" in 2018 features among the best-attended shows in the Abbey’s history.

Alongside producing its own work, the Abbey Theatre has always co-produced and co-presented work. For example, in 2016 David Ireland’s incendiary "Cyprus Avenue", starring Stephen Rea, was co-produced with the Royal Court Theatre, London, and in the same year Frank McGuinness’s "Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme" was co-produced with Headlong Theatre and the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse theatres in England and the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland.

We believe in a national theatre that could also be a resource for the nation's theatre companies and makers. This has led to an increase in the number of co-productions and presentations while retaining the Abbey’s identity as a major producing theatre. The impact of opening the Abbey up to other companies and artists, while welcomed by many, and which was an important part of the transition process, did have the consequence of reducing the number of self-produced shows across 2017 and 2018, which we clearly acknowledge. We acknowledge that some have been disadvantaged by that decision while recognising that others who had previously struggled to find a home at the Abbey have benefitted. The 2019 programme includes more self-produced work, while retaining the principle of an open collaborative programme. There will be seven Abbey Theatre self-produced shows on the Abbey stage, of which three will tour in Ireland, the US and the UK. Our self-produced work will be on the Abbey stage for 31 weeks in 2019, with co-produced work occupying 14 weeks and presented work occupying five weeks. A further two weeks are reserved for essential maintenance.

In 2019 the smaller Peacock stage, which for financial reasons was dark for long periods in the past, will have a full programme of work. This includes development periods for new shows by the Abbey and other artists, and initiatives such as the Abbey’s 5x5 programme, where under-represented communities are given the funding and space to work on the Peacock stage for a week. The pilot in the first year of that programme included the Pavee Point and Traveller health care project, and Shadowbox, a group for people with intellectual disabilities. It also includes the Young Curators programme, a season of work for young people selected by young people, as well as small-scale presentations by innovative, independent Irish companies and artists. Through these initiatives, we believe we will help to unearth the new voices of Ireland and, in turn, welcome a new and diverse audience. Could the next Synge or O’Casey currently be living in direct provision? We will never know if we do not open our doors to these companies and organisations.

This approach allows both the Abbey and Peacock stages to operate all year round. The three-year average of 49 productions in 2017-19 compares with the corresponding average of 36 shows across the stages for 2014-16. As noted, audiences are responding positively to this approach. Our attendances are continuing to grow and reached 127,500 at the Abbey Theatre in 2018, the highest since 2010. Crucially, for 56% of that audience it was their first time attending the Abbey.

We believe in a national theatre where our artists are allowed to fail but must be celebrated when they succeed. The programme adjustment has lead to a significant improvement in gender equality on the Abbey’s stages, which, like the other main Irish stages, have had a pronounced gender imbalance in the past. As well as the Abbey's self-produced programme investing directly in female talent, our invitation to small, independent companies, in whose works we have also invested, to present on the Abbey stages has contributed to the speed at which we have been able to improve gender balance and bring greater variety to our audiences.

Against this positive outlook for the theatre, we take very seriously the concerns raised by some in the theatre community, particularly around employment opportunities for Irish and Irish-based artists being directly employed by the Abbey. Let me give the committee a picture for 2019. Our self-produced programme will directly employ 85 actors over a total of 775 actor weeks. Of those 85 actors, the vast majority will be Irish and predominantly Irish-based. A further 66 Irish or Irish-based actors will be employed through co-production and paid directly at Abbey rates over a total of a further 342 actor weeks. Through in-association, presentation, readings and workshop agreements, which are outlined on the slide, we estimate a further 120 actors will engage in paid employment with the Abbey in 2019.

I want to address the concerns expressed in regard to potential underpayment for artists working at the Abbey, which we take incredibly seriously, under the co-production, in-association and presentation contracts issued potentially by a partner theatre company. In regard to co-production, we have been in discussion with the Arts Council on this matter in recent months and we have agreed to ensure that all future contracts will include a condition that any artist engaged in a co-production with the Abbey will be paid at the appropriate Abbey rate or higher, whether at the Abbey or outside it. The issue of the Abbey determining pay rates for other companies presenting work at the Abbey is legally complex and we would like to see this issue form part of the planned dialogue with our theatre colleagues over the coming weeks.

We believe the Abbey Theatre should always be a fair-minded employer and collaborator while providing a good return for substantial public investment. We believe our programmes balance artistic ambition with financial prudence, and support artistic development and diversity, while encouraging ever-larger audiences to visit the Abbey Theatre. We welcome this opportunity to engage in positive dialogue with our colleagues from the Irish theatre sector and the Arts Council to ensure that our collective focus on making and presenting great theatre, in ways that are fair to artists and attractive to audiences, is at the heart of all we do.