THE IRISH TIMES IRISH THEATRE AWARDS:"OUR TWO professions do have some things in common," Irish Times managing editor Gerry Smyth said at the theatre awards presentation in the Burlington Hotel: "A shared humility about our achievements, and a nightly production that must go on, no matter what."
Despite such overlap, however, members of the theatre community and those of the Fourth Estate have not always seen eye to eye, he said.
“Picasso was once asked the question: ‘When is a painting actually finished?’ His answer was: ‘When the guys from the gallery come to hang it’,” said Mr Smyth.
“In answer to the question: ‘When is a play finished?’, I once heard my friend, the poet and playwright Dermot Bolger, respond that it’s when the critics from the newspapers come to hang it.”
Sunday night’s event gave a more positive version of the preceding year in theatre, however, and the message was clear that despite “dismal and challenging times”, the show must go on.
Paying tribute to the three judges for the 2008 Irish Times Theatre Awards, Madeline Boughton, Sara Keating and Donal Shiels, Mr Smyth called their dedication in seeing over 180 plays last year a “labour of love, of belief in the role of theatre and what it represents”.
This belief in the role of theatre was at the forefront of the evening, with Donal Shiels speaking on behalf of the judges to remind his audience that the performing arts have “so much more to offer the people of Ireland than just a return on an investment”.
Having said that, Mr Shiels noted that cultural tourism alone accounted for over €2 billion in exchequer returns last year, with the performing arts playing “a major role” in delivering this revenue.
Reflecting on the year past, he pointed to the slow start to the year, while commending the strength and quality of touring shows.
He also suggested the inclusion of an award for the technical and craft area of theatre to honour “music composition, sound design, scenic painters and videographers”.
There were criticisms, however, with Mr Shiels pointing to a dearth of information when it comes to finding out what is happening in Irish theatre on any given day, as well as the need to develop the role of women in theatre and to improve the quality of the coffee at venues.
“So next year we will be honouring a production that opened in January, toured Ireland, put women at the centre of it with inspired writing, acting and use of technology, and that served fantastic coffee at the interval,” he joked.
Despite an awareness among those assembled of Ireland’s changing economic circumstances and fears of its effect on the performing arts, Mr Shiels ended on an optimistic note.
“You have noticed that I have not mentioned the ‘R’ word tonight, which is very much in vogue,” he said.
“But as we look back now tonight and celebrate 2008, I for one believe that on this evidence we can look forward with confidence and ‘Remember the future’ and how we intend to shape it.”