On the Town: Notes flew out the doors of the Abbey Theatre this week as the musical Improbable Frequency rose to a crescendo.
The full house on opening night included writers Maeve Binchy and Gordon Snell and producer Noel Pearson, who is currently in post-production after shooting Binchy's novel, Tara Road, which stars Andie MacDowell and Olivia Williams.
Producer John McColgan, who is currently organising a transfer of The Shaughraun to the Albery Theatre, an 800-seater theatre in London's West End, was there with his son, RTÉ director Justin McColgan.
Also present was Ronan Wilmot, director of the New Theatre in East Essex Street, in Dublin's Temple Bar, who is waiting while "the iconic property developer, Mick Wallace" carries out serious renovations and developments at the long-established Connolly Bookshop and the theatre building behind it. It's all due to be completed by autumn next year, said Wilmot.
Barrister and author Conor Bowman, whose self-published book of short stories is called Life and Death and In Between, was also at the opening.
Martin Murphy, who has just finished working as artistic director with Team Educational Theatre Company after seven years, was there too.
"It's lived up to all the hype," said Bea Kelleher, executive producer of the Dublin Fringe Festival, who heard about the Rough Magic production when it first opened to rave reviews last year as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival. "There was a buzz around about it."
"I still think it's fantastic," chirped in Loughlin Deegan, executive director of Rough Magic.
"It's a bit collegiate, but I like it," said the playwright Hugh Leonard at the interval.
Others at the opening of the play, by Arthur Riordan and Bell Helicopter, included Kilkenny woman and teacher Ber O'Hara, writer Peter Sheridan, and Pat Moylan, of Andrews Lane Theatre. Moylan is also the producer of I,Keano, which returns to Dublin's Olympia Theatre for one month at the end of April.
Improbable Frequency, by Arthur Riordan and Bell Helicopter, runs at the Abbey Theatre until Saturday, Apr 9