Sir, – Arthur Deeny (September 14th) complains about the lack of work in this year’s Absolut Fringe addressing the “real state of Ireland today”. I must disagree very strongly with this allegation, as do many of my colleagues at Project Arts Centre.
Project has supported this festival since its inception in 1995, and many of the productions we are presenting as part of Absolut Fringe 2012 directly address the state of the nation. These include Shaun Dunne’s touching exploration of the recession’s crippling consequences in the lives of tradesmen, told through the eyes of their children, and Stefanie Preissner’s new piece directly addressing the issue of mass emigration and its impact on a generation. The remit of Absolut Fringe is to programme work which is daring, innovative and challenging in either form or content – the festival has achieved this in 2012 more than ever. – Yours, etc,