Abbey Theatre School

The Abbey Theatre School or the Abbey School of Acting, was a drama school associated with the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, Ireland. Established in 1911 by W. B. Yeats,^: 59 it was developed by Lady Gregory to continue performances in Dublin while the main cast of the theatre was overseas, usually in America.

The school's first director was the theatre director Nugent Monck, whom Yeats asked to begin the school.^: 59 The first play performed by the school was The Countess Cathleen, written by Yeats.

The school was the primary place in Ireland where amateur actors could receive training for an acting career before breaking into paid work. In the beginning, the school's plays were performed in the Abbey Theatre, but in 1927 the venue for them became the newly constructed Peacock Theatre, located on the first floor of the Abbey Theatre's building.^: 138

Many well-known Irish actors and directors attended or taught at the school. Among them were Lennox Robinson,^{: 513 : 49} Stephen Rea, and Frank Fay.^: 181

There were gaps in the operation of the school, sometimes long ones, and according to Tomás MacAnna it was revived many times.^{: 278, 284, 286} One brief period of activity was in the years 1967–1970, when Frank Dermody attempted to revive it, but it was closed after a number of complaints.^: 236

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