Woe betide anyone who dares to air their dirty laundry on South Great George's Street during the Fringe: they may run into Becky Reilly and her Catapult co-stars "dancing their heads off" in a "slightly sarcastic manner" on tumble-driers at the All-American Laundrette after-hours show choreographed by Rebecca Walters.
The Dublin Fringe Festival drew a roaring crowd to the Odeon for its launch on Monday night. Head honcho Ali Curran was in top form for her fifth and final Fringe - she becomes director of the Peacock this autumn. Film and theatre writer/director Conor McPherson told the assembled thesps to be bold and brave for the festival, which runs from September 24th to October 13th, adding: "Most people wouldn't go to the theatre in a fit".
Ross O'Corrβin, director of the TCD company Untitled Assembly, was buzzing about his production of Genet's The Maids. X-Bel-Air director R≤is∅n McBrinn and actress Sarah Brennan are putting on JosΘ Rivera's Giants Have Us In Their Books, an upside-down fairytale. Donal Shiels, producer of Scenes from a Water Cooler, looked a little distracted. Something to do with his other hat as panto king at the Gaiety? "I'm hunting for dwarfs at the moment," he admitted. So this year's show is Snow White.
Aidan Coleman's all-singing Auntie Nancy was holding forth from her wheelchair/mobile throne. Aidan's show, Songs of Joyce, at Bewley's is a family affair, taking in his mother Noelle and musician sons Kealan and Gavan - they're all excited at being asked to bring the show to Paris's James Joyce pub.
Spotlight's Fergus Walsh, Christian O'Reilly, SinΘad Beary and Merrina Millsapp arrived fashionably late. Merrina, from Chicago, plays an African in It Just Came Out, so she'll have to cover up her yankee twang. Arhon Rocca (aka Tara McCann on Fair City) was there with Garry Duggan, writer/director of Manhattan Whispers, which is about their rags-to-riches experience in New York last year on J1 visas.
"At one point we were almost homeless in New York, ready to sleep on the subway," said Duggan.
"But by the end we were going to premiΦres, had an apartment in Central Park West, champagne in the fridge - and Harrison Ford living two doors down from us," said Rocca.
And all the while, Female Parts were on the prowl for men. "We hunt in a pack," said Nicola O'Connor. They reckon there are no decent men in Dublin and that's the basis of their play, It's 2 p.m. in the Morning, about two single actresses desperate for love.
Autobiographical? Quite a bit, said Elaine Walsh, Bairbre Scully and Caroline Mullarkey. But which bits they wouldn't say . . .