A RAVE review of Marina Carr's new play Portia Coughlan in this newspaper praised the Abbey for encouraging the young playwright, but praise really belongs to director Garry Hynes because the play was, made possible thanks to an unusual idea for a collaboration between Marina and the National Maternity Hospital.
As part of their long term arts plan, the powers that be in Holles Street wanted to involve a playwright directly in their arts programme.
As usual, money was the big stumbling block but Garry, working with Matron Maeve Dywer and poet Eavan Boland among others, came up with the inspired idea of tapping, some arts sympathetic women for, money: 89 women duly donated, £50, which meant that they could commission the play. The hospital a so gave Marina a room in which to work and have allowed her to stay on to work on her next project.
A very happy and grateful Marina was at the Peacock on Monday night for a special performance to which all the sponsors were invited, including Freda Gorman, the only female consultant paediatrician in Holles Street. Monday night's audiences perhaps the only theatre audience fever who would have been sympathetic if Freda's beeper had gone off at an inopportune moment. As it happened it didn't.
The Master of Holles Street, Peter Boylan, was there with his wife Frances Meagher, and said he was thrilled with the successful outcome of the collaboration. Over from Galway for the evening was Jane Daly, Druid's general manager who is due to leave the company in May to pursue a career as a freelance arts project manager.