It was late. The lights were low, the tables close together. The cabaret was about to begin. It was way past our bedtime.
Guests at Ich Liebe Dich, with Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer, entered the cabaret world of Kurt Weill not knowing what to expect.
The box of Black Magic said it all on opening night at the Tivoli Theatre. Anne Kennedy, with her box of chocolates, was one of the earliest to arrive, along with her son Matthew Kennedy. "I'm of an age to remember Agnes Bernelle," she said.
Translator and songwriter Thom Moore (composer of Carolina Rua) and his wife Lyuba, also arrived before the crowds.
Julian Erskine, senior executive producer of Riverdance, was there, too, with his wife, actress Anita Reeves.
Alexandra McGuinness, in a yellow hat designed by Ali Malik, and her younger brother Max, came along with their mother, Kathy Gilfillan.
From Sydney, Peter Beckett and his wife Katherine Sankey, who were always lovers of the Virgin Prunes, were in the audience. "I love the way he affects other people's music," said Sankey of Friday.
Two German women, Imme Mallin (living in Ireland for the past 40 years) and Hertha Stieber (here for the past 50 years) and their friend, teacher Maria McRoberts, were all eager to hear the music of Weill. Broadcaster Carrie Crowley was spotted in the half-light. Guggi, the artist of the long flowing locks, was there.
Fergus Linehan, the youthful festival director, came along, delighted with the response to the range on offer at the Dublin Theatre Festival.
Then the music started, and the low voice of Friday curled its way around us. Soon Friday sang a song "for all the people under 21 who have never gone through the in and out thing". It was only the beginning.