Irish theatre is not travelling well, but some people are working hard to make sure it treads the boards abroad, reports Christine Madden.

Long before the boom of the IT sector, and apart from the perennial appeal of Guinness, Ireland has possessed a very desirable commodity: its theatre. But although Ireland takes pride in its tradition of theatrical excellence, not much evidence of it travels beyond the shores of this island.

Of Ireland's four Nobel Prize winners, three - Yeats, Shaw and Beckett - were playwrights. (The fourth, Seamus Heaney, has just had his play The Burial at Thebes performed at the Abbey.) The international reputation of the Abbey still resonates with dramatists and literati abroad. But financial, logistic and organisational obstacles prevent all but a trickle of Irish productions appearing for a single performance abroad, never mind a tour. And so accustomed is Irish theatre to being hampered by geographical constraints that most dramatists quite likely never even think about the possibility of their work treading the boards abroad.

Attending an important theatre festival in Germany, the Wiesbaden Biennale of contemporary European theatre writing, I was amazed and gratified by the many people who approached me looking for Irish work to include in their venue and festival programmes. All keen to discover what was new on the Irish scene, they nevertheless shrugged and rolled their eyes in frustration when it came to the nuts and bolts of export/import. The structure of our theatre sector severely impedes our ability to showcase our work to theatre professionals in other countries and to enable productions then to travel abroad months or years later.

"It's difficult to get people to come and see our work, except during the theatre and fringe festivals," says Gavin Quinn, artistic director of Pan Pan Theatre Company and its International Theatre Symposium. Quinn has been exceptionally active and successful in taking work abroad, and in bringing contemporary international work into Ireland.

Independent director Rachel West has also toiled incessantly to promote Irish theatre overseas. Having spent many years working as a director in Germany, notably with the Schaubühne in Berlin, her contacts in that country frequently ask her for suggestions and assistance regarding Irish contributions to their programmes. She struggles against many obstacles in fulfilling their wishes.

"We are restricted financially - definitely," she states. She rattles off the budget figures of theatres abroad: the Schaubühne receives funding of €26 million a year, the Munich Opera €53 million a year and the Royal National in London £55 million a year. Such funds are not available to comparable Irish theatres.

Apart from the financial difficulties, the structure of the theatre sector in Ireland makes the organisation of touring a bit of a chess game. Theatres in Europe often have their own ensembles, and their productions become part of their repertoire, like a party piece that can be brought out, dusted off and presented anywhere with relatively little effort. In contrast, "we have a predominantly freelance scene for performing arts" in Ireland, Quinn points out. Going on tour means having to assemble all the cast members again - most of whom, with any luck, have gone on to other work. For example, Quinn says: "We're taking Mac-Beth 7 to Holland at the end of August. We're missing one out of eight cast members, so I'll have to re-cast that member. And I can do that, but it's lucky that more aren't missing, or one of the singers."

The benefits of surmounting obstacles to take Irish performing art abroad manifest themselves in multiple ways. "People would be employed for longer," says Ali Curran, director of the Peacock and former director of the Dublin Fringe Festival. "It seems trivial, but six weeks is a short time for a writer to have exposure, and a short time for a director to have his/her work exposed. Actors are basically out of work every six to 10 weeks."

Also, "European theatre is a bit more contemporary than ours", says Quinn. The fact that "we're trading on a strong reputation", as Curran suggests, may soon dissolve. The tradition of the Abbey still has legendary status abroad, but this could become tarnished and cease to draw interest, West remarks, should Irish theatre continue to stagnate.

"Theatre is not regarded as an industry here," she says. "Irish taxpayers don't have the same sense of ownership of their theatres as, say, the Germans do. They want their theatres to be active, thought-provoking places."

Touring Irish theatre could assist in building a mindset that takes pride in our cultural output. Richard Wakely, the commissioner who managed Ireland's recent cultural exposition in China, and a former managing director of the Abbey, fervently believes in international cultural exchange.

"It's important for our national theatre to grapple with its identity in the 21st century," he says. "One way of doing that is by interaction with colleagues abroad, and promoting Irish work abroad. We can find out, through that, what it means to be Irish. But it's not just about taking Irish work abroad. We also have to bring overseas work to Ireland as well."

To bring this about, Wakely would like to see the development of "a dedicated body to assist in the promotion and exchange of Irish culture with the rest of the world. It has to be a body that reflects our circumstances. It should actively promote Irish arts and culture abroad; it should establish a two-way dialogue with other countries; it needs financial clout, with an independent financial budget; and needs to be led by skilled, talented professionals from the sector."

Curran supports this idea. "We have no central approach to the international promotion of theatre," she says. "We need a resource agency to focus on development and promotion of Irish arts abroad, an independent body to facilitate this. It should not be a part of the Arts Council, not agenda-led."

The Arts Council has in fact been devoting time and energy to the issue of promoting Irish arts abroad. It has published a detailed submission to the International Arts Policy Review commissioned by the Minister for Arts, John O'Donoghue, which suggests models of support as well as the dissolution of the Cultural Relations Committee in favour of the creation of a new body, for which its suggested title is the Irish International Cultural Commission.

The international arts development manager at the Arts Council, Diego Fasciati, has also worked to promote Irish arts abroad and has researched ways of improving our methods of cultural export. In addition to encouraging Irish artists to travel and make contacts abroad, he is also "looking into the possibility of establishing an award to help small to medium-sized companies bring someone in from a venue or a festival abroad to see their productions". Fasciati is also considering the feasibility of a "quick response scheme", an award that could assist a company in taking a show abroad to fill a gap left by the last-minute cancellation of another production in a foreign festival.

Theatre Shop, with the launch of its Playography website last year, in addition to its other programmes, has done much to assist the exchange of performing arts between Ireland and other countries. In addition to presenting information about all aspects of theatre and dance productions, it also offers the opportunity to download certain scripts and indicates where the rights for others can be obtained. Theatre Shop also sponsors a workshop during the theatre festivals in the autumn, to which professionals from other countries are invited.

This workshop, according to Quinn, is one of many ways in which a company can get itself established in the international market. The first step, he says, "is to decide who in the company is going to look after the international area. It should be one person, and that person should tread that path for a couple of years."

Patience iskey, as well as personal contact, for a process that requires patience and dedication. "Do your research," advises Quinn.

As well as Theatre Shop's, several other websites can be of assistance, such as that of the Informal European Theatre Meeting (IETM), which convenes twice a year to help performing arts professionals make contacts. Also, the Performing Arts Yearbook Europe (ironically abbreviated PAYE) contains information about venues and festivals across Europe and how to apply to them. "It's worth going over and visiting people, going to festivals, meeting people," says Quinn. "See work abroad, and introduce yourself. People are interested in Ireland, though it's hard to get to. You have to visit contacts over a long time and establish a relationship. Give people a chance to get to know you and suss your work."

And there is interest. "Ireland is coming of age," says Wakely. "We have something to say to the rest of the world."

We should make every effort to say it - and get the response from abroad.

Christine Madden is literary manager of Rough Magic theatre company and editor of the Abbey's StageTwo magazine