Theatre in Ireland is a wide constituency with great diversity in practice. It includes a growing and evolving variety of professional production companies. It has a strong youth theatre component and a very large assembly of amateur drama companies. The mainstream professional bodies include a National Cultural Institution, The National Theatre (Abbey and Peacock Theatres); many presenting venues; dedicated festivals and theatre components in other festivals. The sector also includes resource and service organisations; commercial producers; and ancillary industries. Increasingly, there are specialist professional production companies working in performance art, puppetry, object manipulation and new technologies.
Theatre is a complex support area for the Arts Council, running the full gamut of the Council’s four funding areas and into support for the individual artist. Support directed at production companies and venues is significant. The Arts Council also provides funds for professional services to the youth theatre and amateur drama communities.