Madam, - As the Irish film industry celebrates the extension of Section 48 (tax relief on film investment) and the parallel extension of the BES, offering tax relief to the music industry, the Government, arts practitioners and the arts public at large seem continually to ignore the importance of tax relief on investment in theatre.
Most Irish theatre productions are initiated in the subsidised sector, with top-class commercial productions almost non-existent.
In his review of 2003 in the theatre (The Irish Times, December 15th), Fintan O'Toole describes the year as "tentative, cautious and questioning".
This view is correct. Indeed, Mr O'Toole is probably even being generous.
The theatre industry is on its knees. It is crippled by many poor and boring productions. This rapid decline will accelerate if commercial producers are denied the opportunity to raise finance (assisted by tax relief) and breathe new life into Irish theatre by creating exciting productions, enticing world stars to perform on our stage and essentially to rejuvenate theatre and musical theatre in Ireland.
This fine newspaper must be applauded for its continued extensive coverage of Irish theatre.
As for 2003, in this paper's words, it was a year of "few sensations and few fiascos". However, surely the omission in its yearly review of one of the few sensations of the year, Martin Sherman's ROSE (incidentally a part-commercial production) must lead the list of fiascos.
The end may not yet be nigh for the Irish theatre industry, but we are well into Act 2. Let's keep our best "performing" asset alive by giving the commercial producers some relief. - Yours, etc.,
TOM MURPHY, Lismore, Co Wexford.