The secrecy of the Nobel Prize committee is nothing compared to that of the Dublin Theatre Festival committee members, who prize themselves on keeping the details of the festival programme close to their chest until the last minute. The policy worked as usual and ensured that there was a huge roomful of people in the Great Room of the Shelbourne on Tuesday evening when this year's line-up was revealed.
A trawl through Dublin's theatres from October 5th should be a particularly well-rounded and well-packed itinerary this year. Tony O Dalaigh, the festival director, was particularly delighted that the Maly Theatre of St Petersburg would be making the trip to Dublin. The troupe's world-famous director, Lev Dodin, and its renowned ensemble acting ensure the company is constantly in demand and rather expensive too. This year it was made possible by the persuasive powers of Fergus Linehan, the deputy director, who travelled to Russia, and by the generosity of the some 400 patrons of the festival who provided much of the funding.
Fergus himself took particular relish in describing another of the international shows, Giulio Cesare from Italy. "Not for the squeamish," he advised as he outlined how the first speech is performed by an actor who has shoved a microscopic camera down his throat so that the audience may get a good look at his vocal chords. It's for moments such as these that we positively need the Dublin Theatre Festival.
The other big news of the night belonged to Ben Barnes, who will be directing both The Salvage Shop and Brian Friel's new version of Uncle Vanya during the festival. However, his really big news was of a more personal nature - while he was out in Montreal casting for a new play, his wife Julia Lane gave birth to their first baby. They've decided on the name Elishka as Julia is half Czech and Elishka is the Czech for Elizabeth. "I have two plays coming up but nothing compares to this," he grinned as Martin Drury of The Ark came up to raise a glass of champagne in congratulation.
Fergus Linehan had a whole clatter of his thespian family there to support him on the night including his brother, composer Conor Linehan, and his mother, actress Rosaleen Linehan, who is off to Los Angeles next month to join Joe Dowling's production of The Cripple of Inishmaan.
David McSavage, the comedian son of David Andrews, the Minister for Foreign Affairs was relaxing having safely avoided the clutches of the Scottish judicial system. David, you remember, was taken into custody during the Edinburgh festival, for shouting "penis" and threatening to set himself on fire - as part of his act. The next day the court could find no record of his case and David was free to resume his comedy career.
The venue for the supper club this year is The Side Door but there is no official late night venue - perhaps that is being left to the Fringe Festival crew. The boys at Velure productions provided the late night sounds last year, and admittedly they are rather busy this time round.
Velure (headed by Colm Walsh) has teamed up with good friends and rivals Strictly Fish (headed by Martin Thomas) to start a new club called The Good Life. This Saturday and every Saturday thereafter, it will take place in Life on Lower Abbey Street, a recent and rather trendy new bar owned by Hugh O'Regan of the Thomas Reade group and Liam Carey.
There was a fine roll call of Irish actors there on Tuesday. Gabriel Byrne disappeared at the end of the night in the company of Peter Hanley and Garry Whelan from Ballykissangel and was later spotted in the Horseshoe bar along with Patrick Bergin. Actors John Kavanagh and T.P. McKenna, who will both be appearing in Uncle Vanya, were at the launch, as was Peter O'Meara for a short time only - he had to dash off to the Abbey to appear in The Colleen Bawn. Other folk, theatrical and otherwise, included Liam Rellis and Jim Nolan, who will be bringing the Red Kettle production of Jim's play The Salvage Shop to the festival; Jerome Hynes of the Wexford Festival Opera and Patrick Sutton, director of the Gaiety School of Acting and Arts Council member.