Mysteries of the Olympia's canopy

ArtScape:Walking down Dame Street hasn't been the same since a truck bashed into the gorgeous canopy - a riot of stained-glass Victoriana and one of the city's best-loved architectural landmarks - at the Olympia.

It's been more than two years, and we've wondered if it is ever going to be reinstated. It seems the Olympia has been wondering the very same thing, and seems to have been in the dark about what was happening to the iconic glass and iron structure, which defined the streetscape of that part of Dame Street since 1897.

So it was a relief when the Olympia management had a press conference this week to announce that, in late May, the restored canopy is to be put back in its original place at the theatre once known as Dan Lowry's Music Hall. Strangely (as the department has nothing to do with the privately-owned theatre), Minister for Arts John O'Donoghue was to announce the plans. In the event, he had to cancel, and management, some Olympia performers in costume and the (literally) long-standing Olympia hostess Maureen Grant, were at hand. Grant (she of Maureen's Bar at the back of the stalls) has worked at the theatre for 58 years, and indeed recalls the 1974 campaign to save the Olympia, which included herself and Maureen Potter's "pound-a-brick" fund-raising campaign.

The canopy saga seems to have been a comedy of errors. When it was mashed in November 2004 it was taken to the Point and photographed, then dispatched to Glasgow to be restored by a company called Heritage Engineering. It has since gone into liquidation and the company and its projects were taken over by another. At the press call this week there seemed to be some confusion about who this new company is, who had commissioned the restoration work, what the estimated cost was, or even who will be paying for it - the truck's insurance, the Olympia's insurance, or the theatre's owner, Denis Desmond of MCD. No one seemed to be sure when the canopy would be back, and it eventually fell to 81-year-old Grant to chase it up.

It was all a bit mysterious, even for the theatre's general manager, Jimmy Grant (son of Maureen), who was at the press call; CEO Brian Whitehead was away. The uncaptioned photographs of the almost finished canopy on display showed lovely, vibrantly coloured glass. Although it wasn't clear who would actually be doing it, the canopy is set to be reinstated when Dublin City Council does some work on Dame Street, from May 14th on.

The inside of the venerable music hall has been a sorry sight in recent years, with its once-glorious interior being allowed to decline, presumably because the theatre's mainstay is rock gigs. It is less and less pleasant to go to other shows there (Dandelions had a long run, and there are usually shows there during the Dublin Theatre Festival), with its tatty, bockety seats and grubby, squishy carpet. So it's great news that the theatre plans to replace the seating in the stalls in early summer 2008, eliminating the central aisle as the Gaiety has done. Other work has been done on a piecemeal basis whenever the theatre is dark for a few days. The carpet and lighting going up to the circle was replaced. They have dumped the squishy carpet upstairs and replaced it with posh, hard-wearing lino. This week the circle bar was being repainted, and it is planned to hang a large chandelier from its glorious ceiling rose. Jimmy Grant proudly showed off the work, which is ongoing, and is being financed out of the theatre's earnings.

The Gaiety, meanwhile, which had been refurbished, initially funded by owners Denis and Caroline Desmond, and latterly very generously by the State, closed on February 4th for five months for further work. This will include the complete rebuilding of the stage to make room for the enlargement of orchestra, stage and scenery flying accommodation. There'll also be dressing room upgrades and refurbishment of the front of house and bar. The theatre hopes "the fruits of these works will enable the theatre to programme a wider repertoire of productions, enhancing the cultural life of the city as well as ensuring the future of the Gaiety". The Department of Arts granted €7.5 million to it, with theatre owners Denis and Caroline Desmond contributing €2 million.

The justification for State subsidisation of the work on the privately-owned, and primarily commercial theatre, is presumably because of its architectural merit, and also because Opera Ireland performs there. While some music experts argue that the Gaiety is far from ideal for opera performance, according to the department, the refurbished theatre will be able to "cater for a fuller menu of needs across the arts and entertainment sector, including the staging of full operas and the accommodation of full symphony orchestras".

The Abbey sees things afresh

One of the talking points in theatre this week was surely the instant new theatre at the Abbey. Almost like one of those home makeover shows on TV, a crack team zipped into the poorly designed main auditorium of the national theatre and whipped it into shape - or at least newly configured seating - in about 10 days. The effect of raking the seating at a steeper angle, and eliminating or incorporating the balcony, while doing away with the middle aisle, was indeed dramatic. Sight lines were vastly improved, the acoustics were better, and being in the audience was somehow a communal experience, which it hadn't ever been in that building. Apparently the performers in the current production of Billy Roche's The Cavalcaders were also happier, with a sea of faces to perform to rather than a bare back wall. It puts paid, surely, to any notion that the spot will ever be redeveloped as anything other than a theatre. The transformation is such that the Abbey announced it's to bring back Sam Shepard's Kicking a Dead Horse, the (almost) solo show with Stephen Rea for 12 performances from September 12th - but to the main stage rather than the Peacock. The show came down last Saturday, the same night as The Cavalcaders and the new seats premiered upstairs.

It prompts two questions. First, why did no one revamp the Abbey's seating before now? (And well done Fiach Mac Conghail for doing it.) The Michael Scott Abbey has been criticised for its poor design on many levels, and people have been moaning for years about how badly suited the auditorium is to theatre. Why did no one think of this refurbishment previously? Could it have been the distraction of one crisis after another?

And second, you've got to ask, does the Abbey really need new premises when it's got a swanky new theatre on the spot? Yes, stage facilities are still compromised (despite recent refurbishment of the fly towers and light rigs), and the backstage and administration space is cramped. But all the same . . .

• Put 'em under pressure . . . Whatever about a date being set, we're in strong pre-election mode, and for those keen to know where the various parties stand on the arts, or to quiz politicians about their arts policies, pencil next Wednesday into your diary. Theatre Forum Ireland has invited the parties' arts spokesmen and women to a public meeting at 1.30pm. The panel is to include Minister for Arts John O'Donoghue (FF), Jimmy Deenihan (FG), Jack Wall (Labour), Paul Gogarty (Green) and Fiona O'Malley (PD). Submit questions for the speakers by e-mailing theatreforum@ireland.com. The first batch of questions will be given to the speakers in advance, and there will be an open Q&A session. Book for the free, ticketed event (limited to 200) at www.theatreforumireland.com. Visual Artists Ireland and the Irish Writers' Centre are also involved in the event, which will last 90 minutes.

• Dublin's first Culture Night last year was both popular and successful, and Temple Bar Cultural Trust (TBCT) is recruiting more cultural venues for this year's Culture Night on September 14th - but with a closing date of April 27th to confirm participation. More than 80 arts and cultural organisations are already on board - galleries, museums, historic houses, libraries and cathedrals - opening until 10pm to allow Dubliners and visitors explore the city's cultural life in one night. Contact Lorraine Maye at TBCT, 01-6772255, e-mail lmaye@templebar.ie.

• The deadline for Dublin Fringe Festival applications is also April 27th. The multi-disciplinary festival, running September 8th-23rd, is a celebration of theatre, dance, music, visual and live arts, street and outdoor events and spectacles. www.fringefest.com, tel: 01-8171677.