Sir, - In the many years I spent acting and directing at the Abbey Theatre, at the Queen's, and the "new" Abbey', I found that the physical relationship of the audience to the actors in the main theatre, and the dead acoustic there, intervened considerably in the communication of thought, feeling and speech between the co-creators. Without this free flow, the impact on the conscious and subconscious of player, and played to, the quintessential values of the art of theatre are diminished or lost.
I congratulate the people on the wise decision by one of their Ministers of State, Sile De Valera, to recommend the refurbishment of the Abbey Theatre. I urge those making the decisions on the work to be done to engage technical consultants who had been involved in re-building theatres that have proved successful in creating that intimate environment essential to the art of drama. It is very possible to have such an auditorium seating 1,000 patrons. Build as high as Liberty Hall and provide a permanent financial endowment for the theatre.
The Celtic Tiger will then grow a cultural tail that can protect one of our lasting cultural assets from the crippling paralysis of the bottom line. - Yours, etc.,
Vincent Dowling, East River Road, North Chester Huntington, Massachusetts, USA.