Abbey Theatre School

The Abbey Theatre School or the Abbey School of Acting, was a specialty school of the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, Ireland. It was established in 1911 by W.B. Yeats and further developed by Lady Gregory to continue performances in Dublin while the main cast was overseas in America.

The first director of the school was the famed theater director Nugent Monck who was requested to begin the school by Yeats. The first play performed by the school was The Countess Cathleen also written by Yeats.

The school was the primary place that amateur actors could receive training in acting before breaking onto the professional circuit. In the beginning the plays were performed in the Abbey Theater, but in 1927 was moved to the newly constructed Peacock Theater that was located on the first floor of the Abbey Theater.

Many famous Irish actors and directors had attended or taught at the school. Among them were Lennox Robinson and Frank Fay.

The school was not in continuous operation and was revived many times according to Thomas MacAnna. One brief period was from 1967-1970 when Frank Dermody attempted to revive it, but it was closed after a number of complaints.

One of the last modern actors to graduate from the school was Colm Meaney.

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