THE ACTORS and director of a new production of Tom Stoppard's The Real Thinggathered at the Gate Theatre yesterday morning to start rehearsals in the new rehearsal room of the Dublin theatre.
The €6 million development on Cavendish Row, which took three years to raise funds for and build, bore fruit yesterday with the start of the first full rehearsals on the premises.
Until now, Gate productions were rehearsed at a variety of locations around the city, moving into the theatre for technical rehearsals just before opening.
Not only is the timber-panelled space which mirrors the stage performance area more comfortable, but it saves on rental fees for rehearsal space and is more convenient.
At the first read-through of Stoppard's multi-award winning play were director Alan Stanford and actors Stephen Brennan, Andrea Irvine and Fiona Bell (who play the main characters Henry, Annie and Charlotte), Simon Coates, Beth Cooke and Tadhg Murphy.
They, along with Gate director and producer Michael Colgan, stage director Donna Leonard and other crew, sat around a large rectangular table for the initial read-through of the script.
The Real Thingwas first performed in London in 1982 and explores marital manoeuvring and the mysteries of love, commitment and authenticity.
The room is part of the theatre's new wing, which also houses production and accounts offices, a large workshop area for set assembly, storage space for the theatre's archive and a room that is planned as a "theatre lab" for work in progress.
One of the first uses of the lab space will be by playwright Conor McPherson, who is working on his adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's The Birds.
That is due to be presented at the theatre in the summer.
Stoppard's The Real Thingwon the Evening Standard Award for Best Play before going to Broadway, where it won a Tony Award and the prestigious New York Critics' Circle award.
The renowned British playwright and screenwriter is expected to be in Dublin for opening night on February 10th (the play previews from February 5th).