Time to face the final curtain for Michael Colgan at the Gate Theatre

It’s the end of an era for Irish theatre as Michael Colgan bows out at the Gate. He tells Alan O’Riordan about an eventful 33 years

FEW in the Irish theatre world have come under the same level of public scrutiny as Michael Colgan, who is departing the Gate Theatre in Dublin at the end of the month after 33 years as artistic director. His salary of over €200,000, his choices, the kinds of plays his theatre puts on or should put on, whether or not the Gate’s public subsidy is exorbitant or justified: Everyone has an opinion.

You feel that’s the way he likes it: He’s an old-style theatre impresario, synonymous with the elegant building on Parnell Square that he has steered for so long.