Gate swings to Gotham fest.(Irish theater troupe)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

But Dublin theater fights funding flap at home

The Gate Theater's recent production record would seem to indicate the historic Dublin venue is on a roll both domestically and internationally.

The opening this week of a Gate-curated celebration of the work of Harold Pinter as part of the Lincoln Center Festival caps 12 extraordinarily busy and successful months for the Gate and its showman director, Michael Colgan.

These include the filming of the complete canon of Beckett's plays; domestic premieres of Conor McPherson and Neil LaBute; and London productions of works by Pinter, Beckett and McPherson.

But this heavy production activity belies massive behind-the-scenes turmoil at the Gate, spurred by an increasingly heated and public battle with the Irish Arts Council over funding and organizational …