Irish Theatre Trust
Irish Theatre Trust was established to support the continued development of Irish theatre by funding projects and initiatives aimed at inspiring, cultivating and celebrating emerging and established artists and enhancing the vitality of Irish theatre.
Irish Theatre Trust aims:
• To support leading Irish theatre artists.
• To commission and support new Irish writing.
• To bring innovative works of extraordinary merit to full production.
• To provide young writers and directors with the resources and expertise to develop ideas of exceptional promise.
• To provide emerging Irish theatre makers with access to the tools they need to develop sustainable careers in Irish theatre.
• To strengthen the relationship between artists and the communities they serve.
Irish Theatre Trust funds:
New Writing
Irish Theatre Trust is funding the commissioning of new work for the stage; the first commission was to Colm Tóibín for Testament.
New Work
Irish Theatre Trust enables new work to be produced and presented on the stage in Ireland. It funds the development of world premières of commissioned work, such as Emma Donoghue’s The Talk of the Town in 2012. It enables established Irish companies create work of a scale that would not be possible without the support of the Trust, while also supporting young companies in showcasing their new work in the Festival.
Supporting Artists
irish Theatre Trust is committed to supporting established artists in creating new work and developing emerging artists. The Trust ensures the continuation of programmes that have already had a significant impact on artists, while also developing new initiatives to nurture artists.
In 2012 Irish Theatre Trust is supporting three productions in Dublin Theatre Festival
The Talk of the Town
From the red-brick suburbs of Ranelagh to the giddy heights of 1950s Manhattan, one woman – the iconic Maeve Brennan – made the leap. Daughter of a famous revolutionary father, she threw herself into the glamour of New York literary circles while writing heartbreaking stories of a very different world back in Dublin. Beautiful, mercurial and devastatingly truthful in her work, she fascinated the world, including the brilliant and volatile men in her life at The New Yorker. Award-winning Emma Donoghue, author of the world-wide bestseller Room, returns to the theatre with this dazzling world première inspired by the life and work of a pioneering writer and remarkable woman.
Dubliners
Following the award-winning productions Dublin By Lamplight, Freefall and Man of Valour, The Corn Exchange deftly captures the rich humour, the small cruelties and the celebrated epiphanies of Joyce’s iconic stories in the company’s ground-breaking transformational style. Dublin Theatre Festival is proud to present this world première of The Corn Exchange’s adaptation of Dubliners, which promises to be a provocative and startlingly relevant witness to a masterpiece.
Play On
is the Festival’s new artist development programme to discover and encourage new playwrights. Following an open call, 30 playwrights were selected and offered individual meetings and writers’ groups to inspire them to write new plays, with the artistic support of international playwriting mentor Graham Whybrow, inviting an artistic response to the question: “Who are we and what are we doing to each other in contemporary Ireland?” These two programmes of script-in-hand readings will showcase the quality and range of their work. Play On is a catalyst: it aims to get new plays written to get new plays on.
Projects supported in previous years
Colm Tóibín's searingly honest, provocative play Testament asks big questions about what we believe, who we believe, and why. Directed by the internationally-renowned Irish theatre director Garry Hynes, and starring Marie Mullen, this is a play about extraordinary events that continue to shape our world to this day. Dublin Theatre Festival and Landmark Productions presented the world première of this astonishing piece of theatre in 2011.
The Next Stage is a structured artist development initiative with theatre practitioners from all disciplines chosen to participate in an intense programme of performances, talks and workshops led by some of the world’s leading theatre makers.
In Development is a programme of rehearsed readings, open rehearsals and semi-staged performances which provides established artists with the opportunity to present major Irish theatrical works in development before they reach full production on the stage.
Project Brand New gives artists who participated in The Next Stage training programme the opportunity to develop work outside the traditional theatre models and provides a platform within the Festival for them to perform and hear feedback on their work.
Be an Irish Theatre Trust Patron
By becoming a patron of Irish Theatre Trust you will become part of a group of people committed to ensuring Ireland continues to produce great Irish theatre.
As a member of the Trust you will receive:
• Invitations to an exclusive dinner each year during the Festival, with artists who have benefited from the Trust to discuss their work.
• Access to new work during the development process, with opportunities to read scripts before they are published and attend private readings, rehearsals and dress rehearsals.
• Invitations to the opening night of commissioned work supported by the Trust.
• Acknowledgement of your support on material associated with the programmes funded by the Trust.
Irish Theatre Trust Patrons
Founding Patrons
Peter Crowley, FL Partners
Declan Collier & Jan Winter
Moya Doherty & John McColgan
Denis Desmond
Dermot Desmond
Denis O'Brien
Rosaleen O'Kane
Patrons
Gay Moloney
For more information about becoming a patron of Irish Theatre Trust contact Chloë O'Connor, Development Manager on 01 677 8439 or chloe@dublintheatrefestival.com.
