Spreading the News celebrates and honours the founding notion that the Abbey Theatre was established as an experiment, a fundamental idea that continues to inform the work of the theatre today.

The event is named after the play of the same name, written by Abbey Theatre co-founder Augusta Gregory, and performed on the opening night of the theatre.

The live event on the 8th of December featured Irish artists including Barbara Bergin, Peter Coonan, Kate Gilmore, Domhnall Herdman, Patrick Martins, Seán McGinley, Bríd Ní Neachtain, Stephen Rea, Kate Stanley Brennan, Sexy Tadhg and Eileen Walsh. This company performed a range of scripts, characters and speeches written by Barbara Bergin, Marina Carr, Brian Friel, Lady Gregory, Stacey Gregg, Tom Murphy, Anna Mullarkey, Frank McGuinness, Caitríona McLaughlin, Conor McPherson, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Sean O’Casey, Mark O’Rowe, JM Synge, W.B. Yeats and Enda Walsh. These performances reflect a particular moment in time and embrace some of the groundbreaking stories and works that have been at the heart of the National Theatre of Ireland since its foundation.

Presented in partnership with RTÉ, the event was recorded in front of a live audience and it will be broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 at 6pm on Friday, 27^th December, 120 years to the day since the theatre opened in 1904.

You can find more information on the event here and listen to the broadcast on 27^th December here.

Programme for Spreading the News 

Images from the evening