They say time and tide stand still for no man, but when it comes to institutions, well . . . that's a different matter.
The Abbey has certainly suffered from institutional inertia in recent years; weighed down by unwieldy structures, and a body of shareholders riven by in-fighting between the old guard (understandably fighting their corner) and the more progressive - or at least liberal - forces. Even the Abbey's status as a de facto national institution is, it could be argued, undermined by the fact that it remains a client of the Arts Council while its rough analogues, IMMA and the National Concert Hall, are standalone organisations funded directly by the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht.
Add to that the legacy of internal heave-hos between boards and executives, and you end up with the ludicrous situation of six successive artistic directors between 1985 and 1994, wiping out all sense of continuity.
Having served his first full fouryear contract - and now staying on for an additional two years from January, the current artistic director, Patrick Mason, has bucked the trend. Evidently backed to the hilt by Chairman James Hickey, he seems resolutely committed to effecting internal reform.
Last week Mason revealed in this newspaper that moves are afoot to create a new, top-level executive position in the Abbey. Described by Abbey board chairman James Hickey as a managing director post, with responsibility for marketing and development, this new executive would slot into a new executive structure alongside the existing general manager, Martin Fahy (who has held his post since 1978), and the artistic director - with the latter as a pri- mus inter pares, or first among equals. All three will be expected to attend board meetings, and Mr Fahy will retain his position as secretary to the National Theatre Society (the Peacock and the Abbey).
New terms of reference for all three positions have been drafted, but not yet approved, even at board level - which still leaves a lot of options wide open. However, the principle of the appointment has been recommended by the board and accepted by the staff council. It is now being recommended to the next meeting of the shareholders on November 15th. If passed - as, at this point, looks likely - the post will be advertised by the end of this month.
It's far from a new idea. As long ago as 1992, Clare Fox was appointed executive director in 1992 by the then artistic director, Garry Hynes. However, when the latter's contract expired in 1993, Ms Fox left, and has never been replaced.
This most recent move comes on foot of a strongly worded internal report (see panel) prepared last August by David Brierley, the former general manager of the Royal Shakespeare Company in the UK. He spent a week brain-storming with various heads of departments within the Abbey and very quickly turned around a report which acknowledged what every dog in the corridor knew - that the Abbey was not a happy ship. Harshly critical of a number of internal realities - including the ambiguities in the contractual clauses of the general manager and the artistic director, which has resulted in much friction in the past - he came up with a large number of far-reaching recommendations.
So far, the only measure to emerge is the move to create this new executive position. However, considerable change is expected to flow from the new appointment - although much will depend on the calibre of the appointee, the terms of reference of his/her contract and, one presumes, the budget he/she will have to work with. None of this is as yet clear, although according to board chairman James Hickey an application is currently being prepared for the Arts Council for "a modest additional funding package" to underwrite the new executive position, at least in the short term. Presumably, it is hoped that in fund-raising and attracting sponsorship, the appointment may eventually pay for itself.
This year, the Abbey was one of a number of theatre companies brought onto a three-year cycle of Arts Council funding, and already this year, it has received £2.7 million. 1997 has been an extraordinarily good year at the box office, and even The Secret Fall Of Con- stance Wilde has people queueing for cancellations. Which means that the deficit, which had once again crept up to £650,000 at the end of last year is, for once, being eaten away.
However, no one can guarantee that full houses will continue in the main house, and the Abbey has been haemorrhaging public funds for some years - despite the one-off payment of £300,000 in 1993 by the then Minister for the Arts, Michael D. Higgins, to clear the deficit. After that, it just piled up again. Clearly, changes such as the voluntary severance of the remaining members of the permanent company of actors are needed to staunch that flow before the Abbey can move on to its ambitious rebuilding programme on the existing city centre site. As yet, no capital funds are in place.
The inconclusive tripartite discussions between the Abbey, the Arts Council and the Department about funding arrangements may now open up again, after a hopeful meeting a few weeks ago between Abbey representatives and the new Minister, Sile De Valera, at which the latter pledged to look into the Abbey's problem in the context of her National Cultural Institutions Commission. However, all public funding bodies will look to the Abbey to raise some of its own funds, so one imagines the new appointment will be broadly welcomed.
A number of internal changes are also expected to flow from the new appointment. In the meantime, a number of other key jobs are changing hands. The outgoing Director of PR and Marketing, Ms Dorothea Melvin, has already been replaced by Ms Madeleine Boughton, formerly of the Project Arts Centre, who will take over as press officer and acting head of the PR and Marketing. A new promotions officer is also expected to be appointed. This entire department would be high among the new executive's priorities.
There will be further changes in other departments. Judy Friel will replace Karin McCully as literary manager when the latter leaves at the end of this year, and a dramaturg position has been advertised. When Joe Vanek, director of design, leaves at the end of this year, his position will not be renewed. Instead, the production and design departments are being fused, and a new design assistant post will be advertised later this week.
But the most key job will be this new executive position, not just in an attempt to put the theatre on a more sound commercial footing, but also internally, to stabilise the executive structures and free up the artistic director to do the job he is paid to do. Among the analagous organisations pointed up in the Brierley report, the Abbey artistic director is alone in being without the support of an executive - often described as an executive producer - with responsibility for attracting corporate sponsorship and general aggressive promotion of the theatre, both at home and internationally.
An optimistic James Hickey insisted that the appointment of a managing director will be "the final step in terms of the new emphasis on developmental aspects of the theatre, in order to capitalise on the considerable corporate image the Abbey enjoys, both here and internationally. Basically, we have to put the Abbey on the kind of developmental footing whereby it can enter the 21st century with a real sense of confidence."
