The board of the National Theatre has decided in favour of relocating the Abbey to the south side of the Liffey. The new theatre would cost at least £100 million to build.
At a press conference yesterday, the theatre's artistic director, Mr Ben Barnes, said the board's preferred option was a purpose-built complex on the site of the former gasworks, owned by Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA).
"It was the unanimous decision of the board that, should funding be available, this was now its preferred option for the future of the Abbey in the 21st century," Mr Barnes said. The board is awaiting a response from the Government.
Last August the DDDA approached Mr Barnes, offering the National Theatre the site free - with a £500,000 annual revenue subsidy from the DDDA. The authority envisaged the theatre as the landmark cultural facility in the docklands, overlooking a public plaza. Yesterday Mr Barnes outlined the advantages of the move, saying the docklands site was three times the Abbey's size and could accommodate a "spacious and flexible theatre", while it would be within the ambit of the city centre. He said the Abbey's programme could continue while its new home was built.
While it is agreed that the Abbey's and Peacock's facilities are "cramped and uninviting", theatre and architectural opinion on the future location has been sharply divided. The issues include the importance of keeping the National Theatre in the heart of the city and of retaining the historical links with Abbey Street. The debate began last June when the Minister for Arts and Heritage, Ms ile de Valera, announced that her Department would provide £50 million to redevelop the theatre on its Lower Abbey Street site. This was recommended by an Office of Public Works committee. The Abbey's consultant architects, McCullough Mulvin, also favour a radical redesign and vertical expansion on site and their feasibility studies have been examined by the Abbey's board.
The board has also been considering an offer from Treasury Holdings of a north docks site.
Mr Barnes also unveiled this year's programme, with new plays by Sebastian Barry, Jim Nolan, Mark O'Rowe and Billy Roche and a celebratory season of Tom Murphy plays in October. The literary department has been thoroughly restructured and the position of commissioning manager created.