Irish Theatres Agree to Gender Blind Casting Policy

The Gender Equality Policy has been in works for the last 18 months and is set to truly innovate the way gender is treated within Irish theatre. The new policy was enacted by Minister for Culture Josepha Madigan, who became inspired by the Waking the Feminist movement in 2015 - a campaign which sought to uncover the lack of women who have been celebrated within Irish theatre.

Madigan announced: "The 10 theatre companies involved in the working group have come together to demonstrate the power of collaboration within the cultural sector in Ireland, to share expertise, support and learnings and enhance the possibilities for women in the Irish theatre sector. It is vital that women’s voices are allowed to reverberate on stage, across the cultural sector and across society as a whole."

Irish canon is set to be revisited, with theatre makers determining whether women writers had been previously dismissed. A higher degree of effort will be made to ensure such plays are then brought to the stage.

With the new policy, half off all new plays to be commissioned must be allocated for female playwrights. One of the most notable changes to be made includes the creation of gender blind casting for plays, including opportunities for gender blind cast readings. The policy will also ensure that there is a complete gender balance in programming within the next five years.

Staff in the theater will also receive training so they can have an unconscious bias when casting their roles.

One of the leading theatre festivals involved, the Dublin Theatre Festival shared the news via social media about their excitement for the new era in Irish theatre:

Thrilled to be one of the ten theatre organizations involved in this initiative. @TheLirAcademy @josephamadigan #GenderEqualityInIrishTheatre https://t.co/3k1jx5BGz3

— Dublin Theatre Fest (@DubTheatreFest) July 9, 2018

Another theatre company involved in the momentous policy is the Rough Magic company, who released a statement on their website saying:

"Rough Magic is proud to be one of ten leading theatre organisations taking part in the “Gender Equality in Practice in Irish Theatre” working group. Together we have made a joint promise to address and rebalance the gender equality deficiencies within Irish theatre. As part of this commitment we have produced a Gender Equality Policy for our company."

Also involved in the policy are The Abbey, The Gate, Fishamble: The New Play Company, the Lir Academy, Druid Theatre Company, Cork Midsummer Festival, Everyman Theatre Company, and Corn Exchange.