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Abbey Theatre Review
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Abbey Theatre
- Address: Lower Abbey St., Northside, Dublin, Co. Dublin
- Phone: 01/878-7222
- www.abbeytheatre.ie
Fodor's Review:
Abbey Theatre is the fabled home of Ireland's national theater company. In 1904 W. B. Yeats and his patron, Lady Gregory, opened the theater, which became a major center for the Irish literary renaissance -- the place that first staged works by J. M. Synge and Sean O'Casey, among many others. The year 2004 celebrated the 100th anniversary of this landmark theater. Plays by recent Irish drama heavyweights like Brian Friel, Tom Murphy, Hugh Leonard, and John B. Keane have all premiered here, and memorable productions of international greats like Mamet, Ibsen, and Shakespeare have also been performed. You should not, however, arrive expecting 19th-century grandeur: the original structure burned down in 1951. Unfortunately, an ugly concrete boxlike auditorium was built in its place -- but what it may lack in visuals it makes up for in space and acoustics. Some say the repertoire is overly reverential and mainstream, but such chestnuts as Dion Boucicault's The Shaughran wound up being applauded by many. Happily, the Abbey's sister theater at the same address, the Peacock, offers more experimental drama. But the Abbey will always be relevant since much of the theatergoing public still looks to it as a barometer of Irish culture.
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