Box office revenues at the Abbey Theatre last year plunged €584,640 after the theatre staged 11 fewer productions than 2023.
The Abbey Theatre’s annual review for 2024 show box office revenues totalled €2.059 million from staging 24 productions, compared to €2.64 million from 35 shows a year earlier.
Some of the productions last year included Audrey or Sorrow by Marina Carr; Children of the Sun by Hilary Fannin and Safe House, written and directed by Enda Walsh. All three were world premieres.
The lower output last year included a two month long summer closure when the stage ‘went dark’ from mid July to late September.
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The Abbey receives the largest single Arts Council grant of any cultural organisation in the country and the drop in box office income and number of productions coincided with Arts Council funding to the Abbey Theatre in 2024 increasing by €500,000 from €8m to €8.5m.
The drop in events contributed to numbers attending Abbey Theatre productions last year declining 26 per cent to 80,650.
The annual review shows the theatre had a 67 per cent occupancy level in 2024 compared to 74 per cent in 2023.
A spokeswoman for the Abbey pointed to the drop in productions for the lower audience attendance.
On the summer closure, the spokeswoman said: “In summer 2024 the Abbey had to undergo essential planned maintenance work on the stage for health and safety reasons. This was not optional.”
“The July/August period is not our busiest time of the year and so the maintenance works were scheduled for this time. During periods when there are no productions on stage, there are many other Abbey activities, including workshops, rehearsals, immersive backstage tours, writing commissions, national community and education initiatives and touring productions.”
On the 2025 box office performance to date, the spokeswoman said: “Box-office is performing well and we are meeting our expectations and ambitions for the year. However, as the end-of-year reconciliation has not taken place, all budget matters remain forecasts, rather than actuals. “
She said that a celebration of Irish storytelling is at the heart of the Abbey Theatre’s artistic programme for the second half of 2025 with six world premieres by Irish playwrights.
The spokeswoman declined to say if the theatre had recorded a surplus in 2024.
“In line with our mission and responsibilities as the National Theatre of Ireland, our programming decisions are made based on a range of factors including artistic vision, artist engagement, audience engagement, inclusivity and financial reality.
“We work closely with our funders at the Arts Council to ensure that the public funding invested in the Abbey brings value to the cultural life of Ireland, and to the wider theatre sector,” she added.
