At an extraordinary general meeting of the Abbey Theatre's shareholders in Dublin a motion was passed to create a new executive position, described as managing director. The post will be advertised immediately. As the long-sought proposal involved changing the articles of association, it had to be passed by 75 per cent of the shareholders. It is understood it was passed comfortably.
The new executive will work alongside the existing artistic director, Mr Patrick Mason, and the general manager, Mr Martin Fahy. However, Mr Mason said yesterday that, despite the implication of a managing director title in the corporate world, this was not a chief executive position.
"There is no confusion in the eyes of the board, or in the theatre world in general," he said. "This will be a three-person executive team, with the artistic director taking precedence - as befits the artistic remit of the theatre."
A job description for the new position has been drafted but not yet fully approved. The new executive will have a broad responsibility in all aspects of promotion and development, from sponsorship and international fund-raising, through running international tours, to all aspects of PR and marketing, including "the exploitation of mechanical media such as video".
Fund-raising for the long-projected new Abbey building will not form part of the new executive's brief. It is expected that a charitable foundation fund will soon be set up, with perhaps another appointment to oversee fund-raising specifically for this purpose.
Mr Mason, who extended his contract by two years to see through the reforms, said the decision would "certainly introduce a new dynamism in terms of promotion and development, which will allow the theatre to respond to the very complex demands of a national theatre".