A £15 MILLION redevelopment plan for the Abbey and Peacock theatres has been drawn up to make the National Theatre more open and available to the public.
The plan, seen as an alternative to spending £5 million on upgrade the 30 year old building or, moving to a green field site, was outlined by members of the National Theatres Society Ltd, which runs the National Theatre, to the Dail Public Accounts Committee.
The artistic director, Mr Patrick Mason, agreed with some of the members who said the building was gloomy and said it had many of the negative characteristics of 1960s architecture.
But he said, architects had drawn up plans to open up the building which would involve putting the Peacock Theatre on top of the Abbey, widening the lobby and putting in a shop, restaurants and a recital area.
He said the cast of the theatre would go on tour, inside and outside the State, if the renovation work was to be carried out.
There had always been difficulty with the 30 year old building and to rewire it, replace seating and to bring it up to the necessary safety regulations would cost £5 million.
He described the building as being highly mechanised, needing pumps to prevent the Peacock being flooded by the Liffey and with an air conditioning system which was now 30 years old and needing replacement.
The alternative, he said, was to move to a green field site but they did not want to do this because of tradition and the Abbey's association with the centre of the city.