THE AWARDS:RED LAMPS, dim lights, a music stage and a lot of strong voices: it was, as comperes for the evening Michael James Ford and Mark O'Regan acknowledged, a "rock and roll"-style event at the 13th Irish TimesTheatre Awards in Vicar Street on Sunday night.
The evening’s comperes kicked off proceedings with their list of icons of the decade, which included the Irish Theatre Institute, “an emporium that evolved into a superstore and became an institute”; former Dublin City Council arts officer Jack Gilligan, dubbed “the Pasha of Foley street”; Gate Theatre director Michael Colgan for his ability to “penetrate and control the avian mind”.
Yet the true stars of the evening were winners like director Annie Ryan, who used her acceptance speech on receipt of the award for best director for the Corn Exchange Theatre production of Freefall, to call for some kind of truce between those angered by the cuts in funding for so many theatre companies and the Arts Council members behind those decisions.
“Change is inevitable. There’s nothing we can do about that,” said Ryan, who said the Arts Council and Ireland’s theatre community must work together to find new solutions. “The question is, how do you harness the enormous energy that is released when something falls apart, and use it to create something better?”
Her husband Michael West, who received the Best New Play award for Freefall, also acknowledged the shake-up in Irish theatre that included a 48 per cent cut in the funding for Corn Exchange. "If the last few weeks have taught us anything, it's how surprising theatre can be and what a privilege it is to work with it," said West.
"The risk-taking that goes with making theatre is part of what we are and what we do." Yet it was actor Denis Conway, collecting the Best Actor award for his performance in The Gigli Concert, who named what Theatre Forum's Tania Banotti later referred to as "the elephant in the room."
On accepting his award, Conway described himself as elated, excited but “also quite angry.” He lashed out at the Arts Council cuts and the damage he saw being done to the arts in Ireland. “Though our art seems to be getting in the way of their accountancy, they should be careful their accountancy does not get in the way of our art,” he said.
His concerns were echoed by many on the night, who expressed their deep regret over cuts that saw 11 companies have their funding discontinued altogether, including high-profile organisations such as Barabbas and Bedrock.
"I'm appalled by some of the cuts that have been made," admitted Wayne Jordan, director of the Abbey theatre production of Christ Deliver Us!"These things need to be addressed, but I think there's great energy and resourcefulness within the sector."
Fringe Festival director Róise Goan also saw reason to be positive, but said the cuts could make things more difficult for a new generation who require inspiration and mentoring. “I think the work over the past year has been fantastic and it continues to be, but in celebration there has to be a mindfulness that talent grows, nurtures and develops in generations, and it will be very hard for theatre to grow organically when established artists are being cut in their prime.”
As writer Thomas Kilroy put it: “It’s become a mantra at this point, but the investment in the arts is one of the ways to go for a whole host of reasons, not least the psychic health of the country.”
Producer Jen Coppinger, who took home a Best Production award for No Worst There is None, acknowledged that the show would never have happened without Arts Council funding, but stressed the need for collaboration, and the need to forge creative partnerships such as that forged between The Stomach Box and Poetry Ireland for their production. "As a producer, I think collaboration is really important."
Actor Will O’Connell, who played poet Gerard Manley Hopkins in the same production, pointed out that financial incentives aren’t the only requirement for good work. “While the money that was around was helpful, it doesn’t necessarily breed the best work. What does breed the best work is sharing resources and looking out for each other.”
Tania Banotti said her award for her leadership on the National Campaign for the Arts was proof of what can be achieved when the theatre community is united. “It shows that we really can all succeed when we work together.”
WHILE ADMITTING THERE ARE tough times still ahead, she paid tribute to the kind of energy that was palpable in the room. “There are huge battles ahead but we’re still standing and we’re still very confident.”
For her part, Arts Council chair Pat Moylan acknowledged the difficult time for theatre, and cited the recent cuts in funding as all the more reason to keep events like The Irish TimesTheatre Awards running. "In this day and age we need these more than we ever needed them," said Moylan, as the festivities got under way. "People are going through very difficult times, and [it's important] to think they have an opportunity to come here, dress up and for us to celebrate everything that's important in Irish theatre."
- Watch The Irish TimesTheatre Awards on TG4 tomorrow night at 11pm