The board and director of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin have acknowledged that their 2016 programme does not represent gender equality.
It follows an online campaign, known as #WakingTheFeminists, which is calling for equal advancement of women artists, a sustained policy for inclusion and economic parity for all those working in the theatre.
The theatre launched its programme to mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising late last month.
But the campaign says that just one out of the 10 plays programmed in 2016 are written by a woman, and three out of 10 are directed by women.
The group wants to see change of the systems "that allow for such chronic under-representation of the work of women artists at the Abbey Theatre, and in Irish theatre generally".
The board of the theatre says it "commits to work with the director and new incoming directors to develop a comprehensive policy and detailed plan to help address gender equality with the cooperation and input of the wider Irish theatre community".
Both the board and director of the theatre say they have "acknowledged and approved requests received for the Abbey auditorium" to host a #WakingTheFeminists debate on Thursday November 12th at 1pm.
An online petition has received some 1,500 signatures, and got backing from actors such as Debra Messing.
I STAND WITH YOU WOMEN IN THEATRE #IRELAND ðŸ€ðŸ€ðŸ€ #THEABBEYTHEATRE pic.twitter.com/gGkCbNdAFZ
— Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) November 8, 2015
