The final curtain has fallen on Dublin's Andrews Lane Theatre, which held its last performance on Saturday night. With fitting poignancy, the closing play, 84 Charing Cross Road told the story of a bookshop that plays a vital role in the lives of the two protagonists, before its doors shut and they are forced to move on.
As the last scene wrapped to emotional applause, Pat Moylan, owner of Andrews Lane, was called to the stage. "This is a really, really special place for me and always was," she told the audience, who responded with a standing ovation.
Afterwards, as the champagne flowed among the gathered actors, directors and theatre fans, playwright Peter Sheridan, who is also chairman of the theatre's advisory board, paid tribute to Moylan's work over the years, likening her to Lady Gregory "another great producer and woman". The site where Andrews Lane now stands housed a printing works and a clothing company when it was purchased by stockbroker Hugh O'Donnell, who then brought Moylan on board.
Together they created the theatre which hosted a number of successful shows over the years, among them Marie Jones's Stones in His Pockets, which went on to play in the West End and on Broadway, John Breen's Alone It Stands and Aidan Dooley's Tom Crean, Antarctic Explorer.
Actors like John Hurt, Barry McGovern, Rosaleen Linehan and Pauline McGlynn have all graced its stage since it was officially opened by Maureen Potter in 1989, and the theatre also launched the comic tour de force D'Unbelievables.
The first show staged at Andrews Lane - Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune - starred Jim Bartley and Jeananne Crowley, who were also in attendance on Saturday night for the last performance.
"It's very rare that actors get a chance to be at the opening and the closing of a theatre," said Crowley. "We started, so we'll finish," added Bartley.
The theatre has been purchased for around €9.25 million by a consortium headed by former Tesco executive Martin Garvin. It is believed the consortium is looking at the possibility of keeping a theatre on the site.