Giving fashion a platform

Rural railway platforms were really the original catwalks of fashion - all that careful preening before you alighted from the train in your crinoline, certain that all eyes would be fixed on you, your caged parrot, and your 100 pieces of luggage.

On Monday, Paul Costelloe acted as MC for the launch of his autumn/winter collection at the newly-opened Design Platform, in Clifden's Station House Hotel. The old railway track runs through the central courtyard, and the platform has been restored. Taking to the platform cum catwalk were models Natasha Byram, Sarah Bargus, Jill Goldthorpe and Debbie Hopkins, who is home on holidays from South Africa.

Kate O'Toole, taking a break from filming Brendan O'Carroll's The Mammy, was availing of one of the first opportunities this summer to recline in a deckchair with a glass of champagne and a few oysters. . She was joined by John Sweeney, owner of the Station House, and his wife Treena.

Helena Yourell, of Galway's Yourell's Hair Studio was keeping an interested eye on all those flowing tresses, while Ted Turton, director of the Galway Arts Festival, and his wife, Lally were happy to be watching a show somebody else was organising. Also ensconced in a deckchair was Richard de Stacpoole, from Roundstone Arts Festival, while mother and daughter Marianne and Eily O'Grady of O'Grady's Restaurant in Clifden swapped fashion tips across the generations.

Romantic Friction

Bodices were being ripped at Andrew's Lane Theatre on Tuesday night. The result of folk getting carried away with the high humidity? Not exactly. It was the opening night of Romantic Friction, a three-hander comedy about Anna, the writer of historical romances, whose fictional characters make an appearance in her house to give their opinions on her own (disastrous) love life.

Sweating it out in period costume under the lights on a roasting evening were Natalie Stringer and Ciaran McMahon. Appropriately for someone with a bookish-sounding surname, Michelle Read, who played Anna, also wrote the play. The show originally ran during the Dublin Fringe Festival and is heading for the Edinburgh Fringe for a two-week run from August 19th.

"It'll be the first time I've taken a show to Edinburgh," Michelle reports. "My mates, The Nualas, are already over there, so I've been getting the inside information from them." Presumably Michelle will be packing several of Barbara Cartland's distinctive books for some light research reading in between performances at Auld Reekie.

Amongst the audience were several other comedians. Gearing up for the belly-exercising event that is Edinburgh's comedy scene were Amelia Crowley and Ronan Tully. Both Amelia and Ronan will be participating in the Channel 4 So You Think You're Funny? competition at Edinburgh next week, whose past winners include Tommy Tiernan. "I'm not stressing out about it, I'm just going to have lots of fun," Ronan said sagely.

Fellow comedian and singer, Elva Crowley was also there, taking a break from rehearsals for her forthcoming shows in The Laughter Lounge at the end of August. Lynne Parker of Rough Magic is going to have "a very busy year. We're looking for a new producer," she reports.

Also there was Derry-Anne McAvoy, who is working with Macnas for their new show, provisionally entitled Van Gogh, which will open at the Dublin Theatre Festival. Brian Doherty, who was part of Romantic Friction's original show, was along to give moral support to its new cast-members, before he heads off to perform in the Abbey's production of Tarry Flynn at London's National Theatre.

Celebrity golf

Also on Tuesday, the 1998 charity Des Smyth Celeb Golf Classic was launched in the Oak Room of the Mansion House. Last year the event raised £50,000, a sum which the organisers are hoping to exceed this year. The charities which will benefit this time are Special Olympics Ireland and Respect.

The golf balls are due to confuse the birds in aid of the event on August 24th, at the Royal Dublin Golf Club. The lads will be going out in teams of three, led by golfers a bit better-known than themselves. The celeb golfers include the Argentine players, Eduardo Romero, Angel Cabera and Jose Coceros; as well as Des Smyth, Roger Davies, and Peter Townsend.

Joining them on the green will be Kerry's former footballer Mick O'Dwyer, RTE's sports commentator Des Cahill, and saxophonist Paddy Cole. Swapping his hurley for a club will be Kilkenny hurler, D.J. Carey.

Curtains rising

Wednesday was the busiest night of the week, with openings at both the Abbey and Gaiety. Earlier in the evening, before all those curtains started swishing, the autumn/winter collection from Ghost was presented in the Design Room of Brown Thomas.

Designer Tanya Sarne was still a bit flustered as her flight from London had been delayed. "We had all the showpieces in our suitcases," she said. She was accompanied by her sales director, Anna Trafford. Several of the women in the room were wearing Tanya's deceptively simple viscose clothes, "which you can stick in the washing machine and don't need to iron", Anna explained. "I can always spot a Ghost dress," she said confidently, referring to this reporter's raiment, which in fact was neither Ghost nor new, proving no-one is exempt from making a fashion faux pas.

Amongst those perching on their mustard-yellow velvet chairs for the show were fashion designer Ciaran Sweeney; model-turned singer Una Gibney; photographer Brian Daly; and Brown Thomas's managing director, Paul Kelly. Also there to cheer on his newlywed was solicitor Barry Lyons, whose wife Sonia Reynolds was modelling part of the collection.

Afterwards everyone investigated the contents of their little goodie-bags, discovering them to contain the latest in make-up subversion - red mascara by Lancome.

Colleen Bawn revived

It was a hot-foot dash over to the Abbey for the opening of the Colleen Bawn, Dion Boucicault's play which has been given a daisyfresh revival by award-winning director Conall Morrison. Among the packed audience, which gave a standing ovation, was Christopher Calthrop, great-grandson of Dion Boucicault.

Christopher had travelled over from England for the performance. "My dream is that this production will bring young people back into the theatre," he confessed. Christopher was accompanied by his wife, Marianne; they were wearing sprays of roses on their lapels. "I'm sure Dion is up there having a ball tonight," Marianne said, looking heavenwards.

Actor Gabriel Byrne was sending a frisson around the bar as every female (and most of the males) in the room swivelled round for a discreet glance; he was with agent Terry Hayden. Other actors enjoying a night off the boards were Eamon Kelly, James Kennedy and Rosaleen Linehan, proudly supporting son Conor Linehan, who composed and directed the music for the show.

Brian Farrell, newly-appointed chairman of the Arts Council, was there, as were novelists Anne Enright and Colm Toibin; playwright Tom Murphy; poet Michael O Siadhail; and illustrator P.J. Lynch. Carrie Crowley was dressed in white linen for the Collen Bawn occasion that was in it. Bernard Loughlin, director of Annaghmakerrig's Tyrone Guthrie Centre, who has recently had Footsbarn performing in a marquee on the grounds, was there with his wife Mary. Bernard was meditating on an off-the-cuff offer made to him in the bar by actress and ex-Charabanc member, Eleanor Methven. "She has offered us a tent Charabanc bought from Duffy's Circus for £500 many years ago. Can you imagine! If we put audiences into that tent now, it would be like `The Circus Animals Desertion'," Bernard grinned, thinking, no doubt, of the lingering perfume of generations of Duffy elephants and other exotic creatures.

Also there was RTE's Kay Sheehy, who'll shortly be playing her part in entertainment history. "I'll be producing the last season of Gay Byrne's radio show this autumn," she reported. Designer Mary Gregory came along, as did director Gerry Stembridge, politician Mary O'Rourke, Lord Mayor Joe Doyle and Loose Cannon director Jason Byrne.

Summer panto

The other opening of the night was Beauty and the Beast at the Gaiety. It's the first time the theatre has had a summer panto and there were children clinging to the rafters. The show stars Lionel Blair, Sophie Lawrence, Bella Emberg and Nicholas Grennell.

Line-dancing with the cast were Christina and Nicole Kenny, the young daughters of Pat and Cathy Kenny. Also on for the fun were Amy and Paul Cahill, there keeping an eye on their parents, Des and Caroline Cahill.

The panto runs until August 29th, and if the sunshine continues to elude us, it's bound to be one treat that families can depend on this summer, since we won't have too many beach memories of 1998.

Kilkenny celebrates

The Kilkenny Arts Festival starts today - or rather, it started last night with a huge party in the Market Cross Shopping Centre to celebrate the festival's 25th anniversary. It might have been in a shopping centre, but there was certainly no wallpaper music in the vicinity. Doctor Strangely Strange got the crowd dancing through the lines of shopping trolleys with their Cajun folk music.

Kicking up their heels in the concourse were Michael Colgan, director of the Gate Theatre; Phil Hogan, the local Fine Gael TD; the newly appointed Mayor of Kilkenny, Thomas Delaney; and violinist Cora Venus Lunny. For Conor Lovett, who is starring in a festival production of Beckett's Molloy, and his partner Judy Hegarty, who is directing, it was definitely a happy case of: "I can't go on, I'll go on."

Chairman of the festival, Brian Kiely, welcomed everyone to the fun. Joe Hanly and Adian Kelly of Fair City were investigating the delights of Kilkenny's fair city; John Houlihan of Glenroe was happy to be on the other side of the bar counter; Swedish visual artist, Rolf Hanson was also there, as were Irish artists, Tony O'Malley and his wife, Jane O'Malley.

Award-winning novelist, Bernard MacLaverty, accompanied by his wife Madeline, was listening out for the grace notes in preparation for his reading at the Watergate Theatre at 10.30 p.m. tonight.

Centrepiece of the celebrations was an enormous birthday cake, a whacking 20 feet by 10 feet, with the moniker "Kilkenny Arts Week" iced atop. What was it made of? "Sponge and cardboard," reports the festival's press officer, Maureen Kennelly. "It was a bit like a giant theatrical prop." And who knows, there may be a few crumbs left to sustain the citizens of Kilkenny through the nine-day wonder that is their 25th arts festival.