W. G. Fay's Irish National Dramatic Company was a precursor to Dublin's Abbey Theatre.
It was founded in 1902 by two Irish brothers, William and Frank Fay. William had worked for a time in the 1890s with a touring company in Ireland, Scotland and Wales while Frank was heavily involved in amateur dramatics in Dublin. After William returned, the brothers began to stage productions in halls around the city. Finally, they formed the company, which focused on the development of Irish acting talent.
Participants included Máire Nic Shiubhlaigh, Máire T. Quinn, Brian Callender, Charles Caulfield, James H. Cousins and Dudley Digges. Their first production, Cathleen Ni Houlihan, was on 2 April 1902. In March 1903 came the first production of The Hour-Glass. The company acquired rooms at 34 Lower Camden St., which they turned into a small theatre. In 1903 the playwrights and most of the actors went on to form the Irish National Theatre Society, which had its registered offices in Camden St., and which later became the Abbey Theatre.
Famous quotes containing the words fay, irish, national, dramatic and/or company:
“The cup of Morgan Fay is shattered.
Life is a bitter sage,
And we are weary infants
In a palsied age.”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)
“The Irish are the only men who know how to cry for the dirty polluted blood of all the world.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
“The cinema is going to form the mind of England. The national conscience, the national ideals and tests of conduct, will be those of the film.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“The flattering, if arbitrary, label, First Lady of the Theatre, takes its toll. The demands are great, not only in energy but eventually in dramatic focus. It is difficult, if not impossible, for a star to occupy an inch of space without bursting seams, cramping everyone else’s style and unbalancing a play. No matter how self-effacing a famous player may be, he makes an entrance as a casual neighbor and the audience interest shifts to the house next door.”
—Helen Hayes (1900–1993)
“Attending upon a prince is as dangerous as keeping company with a tiger.”
—Chinese proverb.