Madam, - It was heartwarming to read Fergus Linehan's Irishman's Diary on the new Guthrie Theatre (February 20th). For the past 20 years a performance at the Guthrie has been on our itinerary during our annual visit to the home town of our son's family in Minneapolis, and we have never been disappointed, whether it was Shakespeare, the musical Candide, The Playboy of the Western World or A Christmas Carol.
But Mr Linehan reports through rose-tinted glasses when he ignores broad criticism of the public spaces at the new building as not being user-friendly: corridors become a maze, bars and restaurants are poorly located, elevators and rest-rooms are difficult to find. Of course, these drawbacks are the responsibility of the architect, Jean Nouvell, and attempts are being made to correct them where possible.
In spite of these problems, however, Joe Dowling remains the treasure he has always been at the Guthrie. He has been the prime mover in making the place a community theatre and the management team will work hard to see that this aspect of its work continues at the new location, with apartments and museums nearby.
As for the hope that Ireland can benefit from the example Dowling has set, I suggest it will never happen. It would take 100 years to accomplish here what Dowling and his team have accomplished in eight: 50 years for consultancy reports to be drawn up and considered, and then 50 more years to argue over location, which report to choose, etc, while costs skyrocket. Then there's the Irish culture that Minneapolis doesn't have: a culture of begrudgery. - Yours, etc,
JEANETTE F HUBER,
Scilly,
Kinsale,
Co Cork.