The Irish Times has paused the judging of its Irish Theatre Awards for 2023 pending a review of the process.
A statement published in the paper said:
"After 25 years of hosting the Theatre Awards, we believe this is an opportune moment to review our selection and adjudication processes. To facilitate this review, the 2023 judging process has been paused.'
The development comes following concerns over a lack of diversity in the nominations for 2022. The team behind An Octoroon, which had a majority of non-white cast members said it was 'unacceptable' that only two white actors were nominated for awards and said it was disappointed by the lack of recognition of actors from the global majority.
A Statement from Members of the An Octoroon Creative Team in response to @irishtimes #IrishTimesTheatreAwards nominations.
— Black and Irish (@Black_andirish) February 10, 2023
Please read our full statement here. pic.twitter.com/pL8GEC0KCq
The Abbey Theatre, which staged An Octoroon subsequently said there had been 'discussions within the industry about omissions in general and race representation and bias in particular' and that the industry needs to work harder to ensure more diversity and better representation in all critical platforms and panels.
The Irish Times has said it stands over the independence and integrity of the 2022 judging panel and its adherence to the application of the current criteria.
The Irish Theatre Awards ceremony for 2022 will be held on March 26th.
