Minister Martin announces Test Live Performance events from later this week
Catherine Martin T.D., Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media today announced a number of test live performances that will take place in the coming days and weeks. These will include a performance of the Irish Chamber Orchestra at the National Concert Hall on Saturday, 19 December, and a production of Landmark Productions and Octopus Theatricals' innovative “Theatre for One” at the Abbey Theatre for a limited run from Friday, 18 December.
Minister Martin said: “The reopening of galleries, museums and cinemas in recent days has shown us the ways in which arts and culture can enrich our lives and can do so safely and while operating to strict protocols to protect public health. I am acutely aware of the great importance of drama and music in all of our lives and these events are an important step in showing that these are controlled spaces which can operate safely at this time.”
The Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce in its Report “Life Worth Living” recently recommended that the treatment of cultural activities and venues under the various levels of the Resilience and Recovery 2020- 2021 Plan for Living With COVID-19 be reviewed. They noted that many cultural centres, venues, galleries and cinemas offer large areas with ample circulation and controlled auditoria and spaces capable of facilitating large numbers of people in accordance with public health guidelines.
These test events are a further response to the recommendation of the Taskforce Report. The concert at the National Concert Hall will be a specialChristmas Celebration with the Irish Chamber Orchestra on Saturday the 19th of December. Details of ticketing will be announced by the NCH in the coming days.
The Abbey Theatre will host “Theatre for One” comprised of six five minute plays by leading Irish playwrights (Marina Carr, Stacey Gregg, Emmet Kirwan, Louise Lowe, Mark O’Rowe, and Enda Walsh), with each original 5-minute play performed by one actor, for one audience member in a specially designed booth. This is scheduled to run on the 18th, 19th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd of December.
“Theatre for One (and a Little One)", for one adult and one child aged ten or under, would then run on the 29th, 30th and 31st of December, in co-production with the Abbey Theatre and featuring newly commissioned work by Roddy Doyle, Sonya Kelly, Louis Lovett and Pauline McLynn.
Maura McGrath, Chairperson NCH and Simon Taylor, CEO NCHstated: “Bringing audiences back to live music and theatre will play such an important part for the arts and culture sector returning and we are delighted to be running this test concert with the Irish Chamber Orchestra on Saturday 19thDecember. We very much welcome the support from Minister Martin and her colleagues in the Department, and we see this as an important step forward.
We have been Live-Streaming concerts for a number of months and this will be our first opportunity since March to welcome audiences back into the National Concert Hall. Strict adherence to Covid-19 controls will be in place for performers and for a restricted-capacity audience of 100, and we will be asking those attending for their feedback to help in planning for future concerts. The concert will also be livestreamed free on NCH YouTube and NCH Facebook channels".
Directors of the Abbey Theatre, Graham McLaren and Neil Murray, said: “This pilot gives a message of hope looking towards 2021 for the theatre artists and the wider theatre community in Ireland. We are delighted to bring Theatre for One to life at the Abbey Theatre. We’re proud to co-produce, with Landmark and Octopus Theatricals, on the world premiere of Theatre for One (And a Little One), rounding out an extraordinary year, with an intimate performance for young audiences. We are very grateful to Minister Martin for her tireless work in driving this. All restrictions will be adhered to and strict COVID-19 protocols, bespoke to these projects, will be in place to ensure the safety of our artists, audiences and staff. Reopening is a journey, one that will be travelled slowly and safely.”
Minister Martin concluded: “2020 has been a very difficult year for those who rely on live performance for their income and for those of us who take so much enjoyment from plays, dance, opera, music, and other live performances. These events will help to demonstrate the capacity of the sector to take creative and responsible approaches to the challenges posed by the pandemic.”