The Abbey Theatre is a product of the Irish cultural revival that began in the last decade of the 19th century and flourished until the 1920s. The revival was initiated largely by the Irish poet and dramatist William Butler Yeats, who urged Irish writers to draw their inspiration directly from Irish life and traditions rather than from English and European sources. In 1899 Yeats helped to establish the Irish Literary Theatre, reorganized in 1902 as the Irish National Theatre Society. With financial assistance provided by the English theater manager Annie Elizabeth Fredericka Horniman (1860-1937), the Irish National Theatre Society established in 1904 the repertory company that became known as the Abbey Theatre, which, since 1924, has received an annual government subsidy. The new group introduced realistic and poetic elements into the Irish theater and soon gained a popular following. Notable Irish dramatists whose works were presented at various times included Yeats, John Millington Synge, Lady Isabella Augusta Gregory, Æ (George William Russell), Padraic Colum, St. John Greer Ervine (1883-1971), and Sean O'Casey. Among the favorite plays of Abbey audiences were Cathleen ni Houlihan (1902) by Yeats, Riders to the Sea (1904) and Playboy of the Western World (1907) by Synge, and Juno and the Paycock (1924) and The Plough and the Stars (1926) by O'Casey. The quality of the presentations declined after the death of Yeats in 1939.
In 1951 the Abbey auditorium was severely damaged by fire, and the company moved to the Queen's Theatre. On July 18, 1966, the completely rebuilt 628-seat Abbey Theatre was opened on the site of its predecessor. Beneath the Abbey foyer is the Peacock Theatre, used for experimental productions and for performances by students enrolled in the Abbey School of Acting. E.B., ERIC BENTLEY, Ph.D.
See also IRISH LITERATURE,.