Claim future of arts venue in danger over garage noise

The future of one of Limerick’s main cultural institutions is in jeopardy because of noise coming from a premises at the back of the theatre, members of the local acting community have claimed.

Cast members and the writer of the award-winning play Pigtown have brought a petition to City Hall to protest at how their nightly performances at the Bell-table Arts Centre are being disrupted by noise coming from a nearby garage.

The cast of the play presented a petition of 300 signatures to Limerick’s city manager asking him to intervene in solving a ‘noise’ row which the actors claim is ruining their performances and jeopardising the business of the cultural institution.

Actors fear touring companies will stop coming to the venue because of almost two years of interference with theatre performance.

The row centres on a dispute between the management of the Belltable and the owner of a garage at the back of the theatre.

Michael Daly, the owner of the garage, claims building work carried out on the theatre in 2009 and 2010 restricted access to his premises and had an adverse effect on business. He claims he has every right to go about his garage and mechanic business at any time of day.

However, cast members say the building work ended almost two years ago and claim Mr Daly’s practice of creating “extraordinary levels of noise” during evening performances is an attack on their right to work and that his behaviour is doing irreparable damage to a publicly-owned theatre.

“Numerous productions have been adversely affected over an 18-month period and there is a very real fear that touring companies will be reluctant to visit the Limerick venue and audiences will stay away if the problem is not resolved,” playwright Mike Finn said.

Mr Finn said the acting community is anxious for the city authorities to understand how the noise is affecting them, and is calling on them to enforce all possible noise reduction regulations to relieve the problem.

In response to the sustained disruption of the play on Jun 12, the cast now invites the audience on stage after each performance to sign a petition urging Limerick City Council and the board of the Belltable to seek an urgent solution to the problem.

Members of the cast delivered the signed petitions and a letter of complaint to City Hall this week.

Cllr Tom Shortt (Lab), who is also a board member of the Belltable, said he believes the problem is a deliberate attempt to disrupt the business of the theatre and is an attack on the city itself.

He said the board had installed CCTV cameras and sound equipment to record the levels and patterns of noise in the lane.