It's the 20th anniversary of the Dublin Youth Theatre and the opening performance of Pericles in the Project @ The Mint was a suitably rabble-rousing occasion. A number of ex-DYT members who had gone on to great things had come back to join the 37-strong cast, including Paddy O'Dwyer, founder of DYT; David Parnell, who has been commissioned to write the next DYT production, and Celia Murphy of Fair City.
Director Gerry Stembridge was there with novelist Anne Enright, who came out of the first half crying enviously "What a plot!". Brian Brady, associate director of the Abbey came with his wife, actress Cathy Mack, and both congratulated actor Martin Murphy, the newly appointed artistic director of the TEAM educational theatre company.
There was a new appointment in the air for Madeline Boughton, too. The much-loved press officer of the Project (who also brought the house down with her role in Pericles) will be moving to the Abbey in the new year. Bedrock's Jimmy Fay, who directed Melonfarmer, the current hit at the Peacock, was chatting about Quartet, his next play for the Project, while Gina Moxley mentioned that she's going to write for CoisCeim, the dance and theatre company.