Minister for the Arts John O'Donoghue intends to expand the size of the new board of the Abbey Theatre from nine to 11, to accommodate the inclusion on the board of an actor and playwright, The Irish Times has learned.
Those two places are "to copperfasten the role of the creative community in the future affairs of the Abbey". They will be guaranteed into the future by the Minister, who will seek to have them enshrined in the constitution of the new company which will replace the recently dissolved National Theatre Society.
It is understood Mr O'Donoghue gave careful consideration to all the issues surrounding the reform of the company and has taken the view that participation in the business of the board by an actor and playwright is vital to the skill-sets of the board and critical to the future of the Abbey.
The Minister's decision follows concerns expressed at the final meeting of the Abbey's advisory council about the lack of artistic representation on the proposed new board.
At that extraordinary general meeting in August, at which the council agreed to dissolve itself to make way for corporate governance reform, many members voiced strong concern that the theatre's future would lie only in the hands of "financiers and entrepreneurs".
Under Mr O'Donoghue's proposals for selection of the original nine-member board, the Minister himself would appoint the chair and two members, and the remaining six members would be appointed by a selection committee made up of the Abbey chair, an Arts Council representative and "an independent person of standing in the arts" appointed by the Minister. This selection committee will now be empowered to appoint the additional actor and playwright.