Why are theatreland’s luvvies suddenly so quiet?

NO, I have never met Michael Colgan. But I did hear him speaking rather too loudly from the far side of a Dublin restaurant a few years ago, and that was more than enough, thank you very much.

It is of course only fair, as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said last Thursday, that people ‘have the right to due process and the right to have their good name protected’.

The plain fact of the matter, though, is that it isn’t looking good for the former theatre boss. Meanwhile, I’d be astonished if the board members at the Gate don’t also find themselves facing some very awkward questions.

Nor, frankly, does it look like the broader artistic community will come out of this smelling of roses. When the allegations against Mr Colgan were first aired ten days ago, there was an outpouring of online support for accuser Grace Dyas. Among those to immediately voice their solidarity were a number of showbusiness figures, including actors Brian F. O’Byrne, Ger Ryan and Olwen Fouéré. Since then, there has been a deafening silence from the usual luvvie rent-a-quotes.

Perhaps of even greater concern is the lack of reaction from within the gilded social circles where Mr Colgan has moved for the past 30-odd years. If some of these people ignored the concerns about their old pal through the decades, it’s time they found the backbone to admit as much.

Equally, though, there may also be highprofile individuals out there who think Michael Colgan is a wronged man.

Either way, let’s be hearing from them. They all have a duty to throw their tuppenceworth into this debate as well.