Losses widen at Abbey Theatre even as revenue increases
Sold out shows including the world premiere of the Mark O’Rowe directed Ibsen classic, Ghosts last year helped box office income at the Abbey Theatre increase 5.5 per cent to €2.64 million.
The directors of the Abbey Theatre Amharclann Na Mainistreach state that “as a result of the Abbey Theatre’s strong box office income in 2023, it was able to maintain a balance between Government grants and self-generated income”
However, the newly filed accounts for the theatre show that the increase in box office income wasn’t enough to prevent losses jumping 17 per cent to €1.39 million last year as costs rose sharply.
The increase in costs was due to the Abbey Theatre staging a comprehensive theatre programme for 2023 as 109,203 people attended physical events last year – up 23 per cent on the 88,530 in 2022.
The loss followed a loss of €1.18 million for 2022.
The loss last year was budgeted for with the directors’ report stating that in 2022 and 2023 as agreed with the Board, the Abbey sought to reduce its unrestricted reserves which had increased during Covid.
They state that it was agreed that €1.4m of the surplus generated in 2020 and 2021, driven by pandemic impact by way of the closure of the Theatre for the majority of the year, was reinvested in the programme for 2023 providing opportunities for artists and the sector.
The theatre’s total funding for 2023 amounted to €12.57m with Arts Council funding of €8 million making up the bulk of the theatre’s income.
The spend by the theatre increased by 9 per cent last year increasing from €12.75 million to €13.97 million.
The Abbey Theatre increased its box office income after staging 35 productions, co-productions, online premieres, supported productions and presentations in 2023. The average attendance totalled 74 per cent – up from 68 per cent in 2022.
The theatre generated a further €487,756 in bar and merchandising compared to €359,304 in 2022.
The accounts show that the Co-Directors of the Abbey Theatre, Artistic Director, Caitríona McLaughlin and Executive Director, Mark O’Brien each received pay of €112,191 last year.
Staff costs last year increased from €5.9 million to €6.28 million as numbers employed reduced from 147 to 122.
Staff numbers were last year made up of 63 in production, 37 in administration and 22 in sales customer service.
Sign up for the Business Today newsletter and get the latest business news and commentary in your inbox every weekday morningOpt in to Business push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phoneJoin The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to dateOur Inside Business podcast is published weekly – Find the latest episode here
