On the Town: There was a great sense of excitement on the opening night of Eugene O'Brien's second full-length play, Savoy. All eyes were on O'Brien, whose first play, Eden, won the Stewart Parker Best New Play Award 2001, the Rooney Prize for Literature 2003 and was deemed Best New Play in the Irish Times/ESB Irish Theatre Awards 2001.
Actor Rosaleen Linehan, and her son, composer Conor Linehan, singer and performer Susannah de Wrixon, co-founder and director of the upcoming Murphy's Cat Laugh's Comedy Festival in Kilkenny, Richard Cook, Barney Whelan of SafeFood, the food safety promotion board, and playwright Bernard Farrell were all gathered at the Peacock Theatre for the première of Savoy.
Also present was Prof Ciarán Benson of the Department of Psychology at UCD and chair of the In the Time of Shaking committee, which organised a show at the Irish Museum of Modern Art recently, raising money for Amnesty International.
The show, which was opened by Yoko Ono a couple of weeks ago, closes tomorrow.
O'Brien's parents, Eugene and Ingrid O'Brien, who travelled from the family's home town of Edenderry, Co Offaly, were at the show along with the playwright's sister, Dr Deirdre O'Brien and brother Stephen O'Brien.
Ciara Higgins of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, who is busy working on tomorrow's Trios@3 in the National Gallery, came along too.
This summer series of chamber music concerts by the academy's teaching staff features pianist John O'Conor, who is just back from the Irish Festival of Arts and Culture in China, playing work by Bedrich Smetana, with Michael d'Arcy on violin and William Butt on cello.
Lorelei Harris, editor of features, arts and drama for RTÉ Radio 1, was there with Anne O'Donnell of the National Children's Office.
Erin Keogan, owner of Amphora in Navan, Co Meath, and her friend, Geraldine O'Grady also from Navan, both came to see their friend, Steve Blount, perform in the role of Podge.
Savoy is at the Peacock Theatre until Saturday, June 5th