Objectives and Activities

Purpose

Abbey Theatre Amharclann na Mainistreach is governed by its Constitution under the Companies Act 2014 which sets out its objects as follows:

1. i. To continue the Abbey Theatre’s tradition of the Abbey Theatre as the National Theatre of Ireland for the purpose of acting and producing plays in English and/or Irish, written by Irish authors or on Irish subjects, and such dramatic works of international authors as would tend to educate and interest the Irish public in the higher aspects of dramatic art.
2. ii. To act as successor to National Theatre Society, Limited by receiving a transfer from National Theatre Society, Limited of its assets, rights, undertakings and liabilities.
3. iii. To promote and encourage the staging, production and performance of dramatic art to the highest standards.
4. iv. To stage, produce, co-produce, direct, hold and otherwise organise plays, rehearsals, shows, concerts, exhibitions and all other forms of performances of dramatic art.
5. v. To commission plays, works and all other forms of performances of dramatic art.
6. vi. To further and promote educational and public knowledge, awareness, appreciation and enjoyment of drama and similar arts.
7. vii. To maintain, uphold, provide and run a prestigious national theatre for the purposes and main objects contained herein.

Vision

The longer term vision for the Abbey Theatre is to fulfil our remit as Ireland’s national theatre by:

• Expanding the programme of new Irish writing
• Nurturing artists to present plays from the national and international repertoire
• Increasing audience numbers
• Increasing revenues through box office income and fundraising
• Planning a new building, fit for purpose for Ireland’s national theatre
• Addressing gender equality at the Abbey Theatre

2016 was an important year in our continued progress towards that vision.

For us as a Board we were proud to deliver on two major developments of note during 2016:

Graham McLaren and Neil Murray commenced as Directors of the Abbey Theatre in October 2016. The Board’s appointment, in 2015, of two people with diverse yet complementary skill-sets to lead the Abbey Theatre into its next phase is indicative of our ambition for the Abbey Theatre’s future evolution and growth.

The establishment of eight Guiding Principles for gender equality by a sub-committee of the Board, established to focus on gender equality in light of the gender imbalance in the Waking the Nation Season (January to September 2016) which was launched in late 2015. The sub-committee was made up of Loretta Dignam, Deirdre Kinahan, Niamh Lunny and Mark Ryan. As a Board we are committed to playing a leadership role in assisting the wider arts community to address this issue and to achieving a much needed cultural shift in the years to come. Gender Equality at the Abbey Theatre will be reported on further in the accompanying Annual Report 2016.

Additional priorities for 2016 were to:

• Continue to develop a long-term plan for the Abbey Theatre building
• Ensure a successful transition from Fiach Mac Conghail to Graham Mc Laren and Neil Murray
• Develop a comprehensive gender equality policy and implementation plan.

Organisational Objectives for 2016

In 2016 our organisational objectives were to:

• Maximise our artistic output across all of our stages and on tour
• Increase and diversify our income streams
• Utilise our resources as efficiently as possible through use of new and innovative methods of working
• Invest in and nurture our staff and artists
• Promote and present our work in a manner which clearly demonstrates its value
• Agree and implement our Digital Strategy in all areas of our work
• Maintain our infrastructure including our buildings, offices, rehearsal spaces and storage warehouse

These objectives should be seen in the context of our artistic and business priorities (stated above) for 2014 – 2016 as agreed with the Arts Council.

The Abbey Theatre’s output in 2016 included:

• 9 plays on the Abbey stage
• 15 plays on the Peacock stage
• 6 world premieres
• 297 actors, dancers and performers
• 55 actors made their debut
• 120,000 people visited the Abbey
• 73,500 people saw us on tour in Ireland and across the world
• 6 touring productions visited Ireland, USA, Canada, Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and France
• 286 performances of Me, Mollser at 65 venues in Ireland, Boston and Philadelphia as part of our Community & Education programme 
• 16,700 people saw four new plays on the Peacock stage
• 29 writers under commission
• 290 unsolicited scripts received, read and reported on
• 17 workshops with emerging writers
• 9 audio described performances
• 13 sign language interpreted performances
• 12,000 people listened to the Abbey Talks Podcasts
• 878, 185 visits to abbeytheatre.ie

These objectives should be seen in the context of our artistic and business priorities (stated above) for 2014 – 2016 as agreed with the Arts Council.

Peacock stage

As part of our strategy to present more work on the Peacock stage we invited independent theatre companies and artists to perform in the space, introducing them to the Abbey Theatre audience and extending the lifetime of their play.

We were proud of the performance of the four new plays on the Peacock stage in 2016. In total Cyprus Avenue, Tina’s Idea of Fun, Town is Dead and The Remains of Maisie Duggan were attended by 16,700 people.

Our work to increase the activity in the Peacock Theatre continued and we are pleased to report these four new plays saw us operate at 92% occupancy. Cyprus Avenue and Town is Dead went on to win two awards each at the Irish Times Theatre Awards in March 2017.

We also collaborated with Tiger Dublin Fringe, An Taibhdhearc, Dublin Youth Theatre, THEATREclub and Dundalk Theatre Workshop.

Audiences

To increase and diversify our income streams, firstly, we continued to employ effective marketing, sales and communications activities to promote our 2016 programme. Over 190,000 people experienced over 1,000 performances of an Abbey Theatre play in Ireland and on tour.

We experienced our strongest attendance numbers since 2010 with over 120,000 people visiting the Abbey Theatre. In 2016 we experienced a 20% increase in attendance compared to 2015, issuing 126,215 tickets for all events at the Abbey Theatre. At Box Office, we earned €2,412,901 in 2016 which exceeded our original target of €2,387,553 set in January 2016.

Our productions to mark the 2016 centenary celebrations proved to be a major draw including a sell-out production of The Plough and the Stars and our co-production of Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme.

Other factors influencing our ability to deliver against our set targets include:

Fundraising

Our ambitious Development strategy saw income from fundraising to support our programme and activities grow in 2016, from €373,532 in 2015 to €815,253, with donors and sponsors supporting our work in Dublin and on tour in Ireland and internationally. In addition to development income raised to support our programme, we received a donation of €1,000,000 in 2016 towards the Abbey Theatre’s redevelopment project.

We would like to thank everyone who invested in the Abbey Theatre this year, and in particular Irish Life, Roma Downey, Robert and Cynthia McCann, Thomas F and Carol O’Neill, the Abbey Theatre Foundation, Malin plc, McCann FitzGerald, Northern Trust, the Ireland Funds of Great Britain and Canada, Villanova University, CRH, the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, RTÉ, and the British Council.

With Cyprus Avenue in London, Quietly in New York, The Plough and the Stars in Ireland, Canada and the USA, and Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme in Ireland, Scotland, England and France there were many opportunities to work with these partners to share our work, to strengthen and grow relationships and to make new connections for the future. As a result, we are optimistic for our prospects at home and internationally.

The Building

Since the Abbey Theatre’s purchase of 15 – 17 Eden Quay in 2012, its stated ambition has been to remain at its existing location, in the heart of Dublin City. In addition to this site, adjacent to the current theatre and facing the River Liffey, the Abbey Theatre extended its footprint for redevelopment in 2016, purchasing 22 – 23 Eden Quay. These sites will form part of the footprint required for the future redevelopment of the theatre.

The current Abbey Theatre building opened in 1966. While we take great pride in our building, we experience considerable challenges when it comes to health and safety standards and access for people with different abilities.

The continued support of the Arts Council is crucial to our success and impact as Ireland’s national theatre. We continue to work closely with the Arts Council, and we are extremely grateful for their continued investment in the Abbey Theatre over the years despite cuts to their own funding levels.

We are also grateful to the government, and to the taxpayer, for the additional investment during 2016, which enabled such a full and wide reaching programme throughout Ireland and abroad.

We acknowledge with heartfelt thank our donors, sponsors, and members, and everyone who saw an Abbey Theatre show in 2016.

As a Board We would like to thank the artists and theatre makers who worked alongside the Abbey staff to make 2016 the success that it was. As a Board we would like to commend the staff of the Abbey Theatre who work so tirelessly and with such pride in their work.

The Board would like to express its deep thanks and appreciation to Fiach Mac Conghail for his leadership of the Abbey Theatre over his 12 year tenure as Director/CEO.

The Board would also like to thank all Abbey Theatre supporters.

Our commitment is to play our part as Ireland’s national theatre as the nation moves towards 2017 and the Abbey Theatre enters an exciting new chapter in its life-time.