The chance to see a September 11th-inspired play starring some of Hollywood's finest had crowds queuing in the rain outside the Abbey Theatre from the crack of dawn yesterday morning.
The line of book-reading, umbrella-clutching hopefuls, snaked around the corner from the main entrance, past the door of the 157-seater Peacock Theatre, where husband and wife movie stars Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins will perform from tomorrow night.
Tickets for The Guys - a play based on New York fire fighters who lost their lives during September 11th - went on sale at 11 a.m. Engaged couple Gareth Keane and Ruth Dowd from Leopardstown, Co Dublin secured their place at the top of the queue by arriving four hours early.
"We got here at 7 a.m.," said Mr Keane, sheltering from the drizzle under the theatre's canopy. "The combination of Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon performing in such a small venue makes it special."
The Peacock was chosen because the piece requires a more intimate setting. Da is currently running in the Abbey Theatre.
The proceeds of the five performances are going towards September 11th related charities. "Sarandon is just a great actress and it's for a good cause," said Ms Dowd. "Both of them are definitely worth waiting a few hours for".
Veterans of queuing had brought fold-up chairs and breakfast supplies. Second in the queue Mr Jim Healy, brought a book, The Fall by Albert Camus, to while away the time. He had set the alarm for 5 a.m. and eventually arrived at 7.30 a.m. "There is a sense of trench camaraderie," said Ms Evelyn McGrory, a violinist with the National Symphony Orchestra. "I sang behind you the other week," said a man beside her.
Everywhere, strangers were chatting and swopping memories of plays they had seen. "It's a very social occasion," said Sean Lyons from Rathmines.
When the doors opened, the early birds were delighted. Raymond Hegarty bought tickets for himself and his wife to the gala charity night on Thursday where the cast will mingle with the audience at a post-theatre supper. The tickets cost €160 each. "Will we get to sit beside them at dinner?" he asked a member of the theatre staff.
Around 100 people were left disappointed when the tickets sold out. According to marketing director Rory Concannon, there are still a number of corporate seats left.
The play, recently performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, has been slated by some critics for being mawkish and lacking political context - one critic, however, said it was "as unaffectedly moving an evening as I have ever seen".
Sarandon who has starred in movies such as Thelma and Louise and Dead Man Walking said she thought Irish people might find the play more relevant because many had relatives who were emergency workers at Ground Zero.
Speaking at a press conference in Edinburgh at the weekend, the couple voiced their opposition to "military expansion" and an American war with Iraq.