After the flurry of theatre festival openings there has been a definite paucity of opening nights in recent times. So there was a fine selection of guests flocking to the Gate when their Christmas show, Cyrano de Bergerac, opened on Tuesday night. One person for whom it was a particularly poignant occasion was actor Jean Anderson, a veteran of the British stage and screen, who will be celebrating her 91st birthday later in the week. Jean had worked for three years with Lord Longford's company in the Gate many years ago but had not seen a show in the theatre since. "So I'm greatly enjoying this," grinned Jean, who is recognised as the oldest working actress in Britain. It was also a special night for Michael Colgan, director of the Gate, who had been working with the theatre for 15 years that day. After the performance, the chairman of the board of directors, Kevin McHugh called for silence in the bar to which a loud "Oh no!" could be heard from Michael. Kevin praised all the structural improvements and changes that had taken place in the building under Michael's care and added that he had also of course produced the odd production. "Some very odd productions," piped up Alan Stanford, director of the night's show. One posse chatting in the bar after the show included playwright Loughlin Deegan, director Lynne Parker, director and writer Bairbre Ni Chaoimhe and Martin Monroe of TheatreShop. While Loughlin is flat out finishing his script for Red Kettle, Lynne is getting her teeth into a "new" play, A Trip To Bath. Written by Frances Sheridan, playwright and mother of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, it was left unfinished at her death. Undeterred, actor and writer Liz Kuti (also there on Tuesday night) was commissioned to complete the work which will be produced by Rough Magic in the Belltable in Limerick. Other guests there on Tuesday night included RTE's Mike Murphy; actors Olwen Fouere and Niall Buggy, fresh from their respective leading roles in the Abbey and the Gate respectively; artists Anne Madden and Louis le Brocquy; actors T.P. McKenna and Barry McGovern, and Patricia Quinn, director of the Arts Council.