A chara, – As the first manager of the Peacock Theatre I am writing to express my dismay and anger at the continual closure of the Abbey Theatre’s studio space, the Peacock.
The Peacock, a truly beautiful 157-seater space, was designed by Scott Tallon Walker architects and opened in 1967, one year after the reopening of the Abbey theatre. Over the initial years and decades the Peacock has presented not just plays but dance companies, puppeteers, mime artists, jazz concerts – even the great Phil Lynott and his band played a lunchtime concert which shook the cobwebs off the Abbey’s rafters. It also played host to the Ken Campbell Road Show which sent the board of directors and some theatre critics into cultural seizures when Sylveste McCoy – later Dr Who – jumped out of a sack naked in trying to break some record for the Guinness Book of Records.
Yes, the Peacock holds a special place in my theatrical and emotional soul and I am annoyed that a beautiful theatre space has been closed for months while young vibrant theatrical companies would willingly fill the theatre if approached to do so.
The annual grant the Arts Council gives the Abbey theatre is in the region of €7million – surely it could be used in a more open welcoming way. – Is mise,