Archives for July 2018

Musician David Kitt says he was being forced to leave because he can’t afford it anymore

Musician David Kitt is quitting Ireland, claiming it is too expensive to live in the country anymore. Kitt says he has no choice given that the Dublin house in which he lives is being sold as part of a portfolio to a consortium of European investors. “I do think it is sad that so many creative/artistic/bright people are being forced to leave this city and the country in general.” He blamed Fine Gael who he said are “failing this city and its people massively. And Dublin’s heart and soul is being ripped out and sold to the highest bidder.”

The Irish Times would like to hear from readers on the issue. Do you think Dublin and other cities and towns around Ireland have become too expensive for artists, musicians and other creatives to live and work? Is the cultural vibrancy of the city being lost as a result? If you are working in a creative industry, have you had to leave Dublin, or Ireland, to make a living? Or are you, like Kitt, planning to leave? How would you fix the problem? Are there examples of better functioning systems where you live now that could be adopted by Ireland?

You can contribute (max 300 words) using this form. Please include a few lines about yourself – where you are from originally, when you emigrated and why, where you live now and what you do there – and attach a photograph if you have one.

A selection of responses may be published in the Irish Times, or passed to a journalist who may wish to contact you for more information.

On July 9th, Minister of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan TD launched Gender Equality in Practice in Irish Theatre at the Lir National Academy of Dramatic Arts at Trinity College, Dublin.

The gender equality policies of 10 theatre companies have been crafted to encompass the individual workings and requirements of the ten organisations and to acknowledge that it is vital that women’s voices are allowed are heard on stage, across the cultural sector and across society as a whole. This is a joint promise to address and rebalance the gender equality deficiencies within Irish theatre and the documents launched today include the following policy commitments;

1. Gender blind readings for plays
2. Unconscious bias training for all staff
3. Achieve equality of gender of board members
4. 50% of a new play commissions to be allocated to women writers
5. Gender blind casting
6. Addition of Dignity at Work clauses to employees charter
7. Re-examination of the female canon 
8. Work with third level institution to encourage gender parity in areas that do not reflect equality of gender.
9. To achieve gender balance in programming within a 5 year period.

This work is the culmination of the process that started with the Waking the Feminists movement in 2015. The 10 organisations involved in this sectoral collaboration are The Abbey Theatre, Cork Midsummer Festival, The Corn Exchange, Druid Theatre, The Everyman, Dublin Theatre Festival, Fishamble: The New Play Company, The Gate Theatre, The Lir Academy, Rough Magic Theatre Company. Information on the policies can be found on the individual company websites or at http://www.wakingthefeminists.org/