Abbey Theatre School


The Abbey Theatre School or the Abbey School of Acting, was a speciality school of the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, Ireland. It was established in 1911 by W.B. Yeats and further developed by Lady Gregory to continue performances in Dublin while the main cast was overseas in America.
The first director of the school was the theatre director Nugent Monck, who was requested to begin the school by Yeats. The first play performed by the school was The Countess Cathleen, also written by Yeats.
The school was the primary place that amateur actors could receive training in acting before breaking onto the professional circuit. In the beginning the plays were performed in the Abbey Theatre, but in 1927 was moved to the newly constructed Peacock Theatre that was located on the first floor of the Abbey Theatre.
Many well-known Irish actors and directors had attended or taught at the school. Among them were Lennox Robinson, Stephen Rea, and Frank Fay.
The school was not in continuous operation and was revived many times, according to Tomás MacAnna. One brief period was the years 1967–1970, when Frank Dermody attempted to revive it, but it was closed after a number of complaints.
One of the last modern actors to graduate from the school was Colm Meaney.

Early productions featuring the Abbey School of Acting