The Abbey Theatre – should it stay or should it go

There’s no point in redeveloping there unless they get the couple of building behind it. But then no doubt An Taisce will be shouting about vernacular buildings of Abbey Street.

Mind you, I’ve never been that impressed by the Abbey Theatre anyways. It’s a poor enough brick box by Ronnie Tallon.

Is it true that originally, the Scott building was intended to occupy the whole block right down to the river and that the sites couldn’t be assembled or something?

How feasible would this be today – not necessarily at this site, but maybe further down river? Wouldn’t the National Theatre sit very nicely with the National Courts of Justice, the Corpo headquarters and the Custom House, as part of Dublin’s riverine frontispiece?!

I think it was Daithi Hanly who has the facade in his garden.

Yes there were plans to build two theatres for the Abbey with stages back to back, on an expanded site running out to the river. A removable wall would have allowed both to join together with the audience at either end. However site accumulating skills were not as developed then as they are now.

I must say that if the interior of the Abbey was better, more spacious and less cinema-like, then the poor exterior could be accepted. However, the whole thing is not at all what a National Theatre should be. It would be impressive if it was of the rank of a small independent theatre company or a town hall or municipal theatre, but as the country’s most important venue for staging Drama, it falls short of its players’ reputation.

Ive spent many pleasant, often memorable nights in the current Abbey & Peacock and would be slightly sad to see it go. But I would prefer that it was totally rebuilt on an enlarged site, for the sake of national pride and the fostering of Dramatic Arts. The current edifice seems to have no lasting architectural importance.

Style-wise is’nt it a pity that we are over a hundred years on from times when we could probably have something like Garnier’s notable opera house in Paris gracing the Liffey. Such imperial building styles of times then conveyed the sense of the ‘national’To rebuild the old Abbey today would be perhaps anachronistic and as it was such a small and modest building. Maybe as already said it’s old facade could be incorporated into a new design either on the exterior or interior…..how about putting it within a glass atrium. Sad to think that Scott had his chance and blew it.His product amounting to a featureless concrete block which dated badly. However we will probably get something resembling the new Project Art’s Theatre which is a fine modern building but would’nt evoke a sense of the ‘national’, especially when one thinks of Yeats, Lady Gregory, ‘republican rebellions’ etc…. and times of old and the grand. Now, that would be a challenge for an architect. (Come to think of it the national theatre in London on the banks of the Thames is a hideous 60’s mass too.)

Would this be the death knell for Michael Scott’s Abbey theatre? It was always a bit of a cost-paring brick box, but would it now be demolished?

It is not listed in the Dublin City Development plan (1999)

Its a pity that there wasn’t a site on O’Connell Street for it.

Would be brilliant on the Carlton site, reusing that magnificent facade. It would also help add life to the street, theatre goers, people going to the bars in the theatre, and perhaps build one or two good restaurants in the development.