IF the Beckett opening at the Gate was a gathering of Irish theatre's old guard, then the opening night of Gary Mitchell's In A Little World Of Our Own at the Peacock saw an almost complete armoury of young guns on display. Rising star Paul Hickey, fresh from shooting The Matchmaker with The Truth A bout Cats And Dogs star Janeane Garofalo and Maria Doyle, was, in jubilant form. Hickey has a leading role in Declan Hughes's Halloween Night which has already been booked for a two week run in London's prestigious Donmar Warehouse once it finishes its forthcoming Irish run at the Andrew's Lane theatre. Someone else with Rough Magic links is playwright and actress Gina Moxley, who is currently working on a film script of her hit play Danti Dan. Equally busy is Conal Morrison, currently directing the Mitchell play and set to make his Abbey mainstage debut with an adaptation of Patrick Kavanagh's novel Tarry Flynn.
In an atmosphere of celebration, Mitchell revealed his play had originally been turned down by Belfast's Lyric Theatre: "They told me they liked the play but asked me to set it in Birmingham so instead I came to Dublin to put it on. I'm thrilled with the production and with the reception it has received," said Mitchell, whose work can also be heard on BBC Radio Four's Monday Play this week. The play might not have premiered in Belfast but Mitchell did receive plenty of support from Dublin's Northern Irish artistic contingent including directors Lynne Parker and Judy Friel, and poet and critic Gerald Dawe, who wrote the programme notes.