On The Town/Fiona McCann:The only one missing at the opening night of Brian Friel's version of Uncle Vanya this week appeared to be Anton Chekhov himself, as players, politicians, painters and playwrights all convened at Dublin's Gate Theatre for the first night.
Playwright Brian Friel was present for the latest production of his adaptation, bantering with the theatre's director, Michael Colgan, who insisted Friel tell The Irish Times that he was "delighted" to be there. "The Gate is my favourite theatre," the playwright jokingly echoed at Colgan's playful prompting.
Among those in attendance for the first night was film-maker John Boorman, who said his friendship with Colgan ensured he always attended opening nights at the theatre, adding that the play itself had also enticed him on this occasion. "Uncle Vanya is probably Chekhov's best play - it's not to be missed," he said.
Artist Louis Le Brocquy was also at the opening night, accompanied by his wife and fellow-artist Anne Madden, who paid tribute to Friel's versions of the work of the Russian playwright. "I love his adaptations of Chekhov," she said. "There's a real relationship between his own work and Chekhov's, and a real relationship between Russian and Irish literature."
Actor Katie Kirby commended the strong performances from the cast, highlighting Owen Roe's interpretation of the eponymous Vanya. "It's a great play, and Owen was quite striking in it," she said. "He was fantastic." Kirby was accompanied by fellow actor David Shannon, recently seen in the Gate's production of Sweeney Todd. The play's "beautiful monologues" were what stood out for Shannon, who confessed to having read Friel's version several times before watching it performed.
Actors David Kelly and Alison Doody also attended the opening night of Uncle Vanya, which was directed by Robin Lefèvre. An Ceann Comhairle John O'Donoghue and writer Hugh Leonard were also in the audience.
And for the British ambassador to Ireland David Reddaway, the Gate's production was a vast improvement on his last experience of the Chekhov classic. "Last time I saw Uncle Vanya, it was in Persian," he explained, adding: "This is a much better version. It's beautifully crafted."
Uncle Vanya plays at the Gate Theatre until October 13th, as part of the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival.
The girls' best friends
Friendship was the theme given to the group of women whose real-life experiences and creative imaginings combine to form the latest collection of short stories from Poolbeg, entitled A Little Help From My Friends, which was launched in Hughes & Hughes bookshop at the St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre this week.
Among the contributors who attended the launch were Doodle Kennelly, whose autobiographical entry about her struggles with an eating disorder pays tribute to her father, the poet Brendan Kennelly. "I wanted to write about my dad, because he's been such a good friend to me," Kennelly explained. She was accompanied at the launch by her three daughters, Meg, Hannah and Grace Murphy, who had clearly inherited their mother's and grandfather's love of literature as they clamoured for books as the bookshop filled up for the launch.
Journalist Clíodhna O'Donoghue chose to write about the birth of her son Rónán. "It's a true story, about the help that I got from my sister and from one of my good friends," she said.
Writer Sarah Webb's entry is a short story about two sisters, and while it's a work of fiction, she agrees that friendship is a vital element in her life. "There's nothing like the support of other women. I count my sisters as my best friends," she said.
The book, which is being sold in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation, was the brainchild of author Melissa Hill, who collected 27 pieces from women including actor Victoria Smurfit, author Cathy Kelly and magazine publisher Norah Casey.
For Poolbeg publisher Paula Campbell, the choice of female-only contributors was a natural one. "Poolbeg is known for its women authors and we know our audience is predominantly women," she said. "They're great stories and they give you a real lift."
The launch was also attended by Eugene Murray, CEO of the Irish Hospice Foundation, and by writers Kate Thompson and Martina Devlin.
The colours of Connemara
'At one time I suspected he was colourblind!" artist Brian Bourke said of his brother, photographer Fergus Bourke, at the opening of a posthumous show of the latter's work in Dublin's Peppercanister Gallery this week.
Fergus Bourke, who documented Dublin and Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s, worked almost exclusively in black and white over the course of his lengthy career.
But, as his brother explained, "finally, the extraordinary colours of Connemara got to him".
Bourke, the first photographer to be admitted to Aosdána (in 1980), died in 2004, but many continue to be affected by his work, as the high turnout at the opening of Connemara Landscapes revealed.
Artist Liam Belton said he was amazed by the colour in the photographs. "It's absolutely striking," he said.
For Marie Bourke, keeper of the National Gallery of Ireland, the photographs managed to work on many different levels.
"Interestingly enough, although the works are absolutely realistic, they're very evocative, very poetic," she said.
Actor Emmet Bergin said he had been a friend of Bourke's, as well as an admirer of his photography. "I've always loved his work," he said.
Equally impressed was the Slovenian ambassador to Ireland, Franc Mika, himself an amateur photographer, who described the photographs as "excellent". He was accompanied by his wife, Amalija Jelen Mika.
Artists Makiko Nakamura and Mark De Freyne also attended the opening, along with arts adviser for the Office of Public Works Patrick J Murphy, poet Micheal O'Siadhail, journalist Emer O'Kelly and harpist Deirdre O'Carroll, who was photographed by Fergus Bourke with her late husband, Noel Carroll.
Fergus Bourke (1934-2004): Connemara Landscapes is at the Peppercanister Gallery, Dublin, until Oct 24.
See Synge on small screen
Three months of rehearsals, eight hours of performance, 600 hours of footage and six Synge plays, all now available in one DVD package entitled DruidSynge, The Plays of John Millington Synge which was launched by Fintan O'Toole at the Irish Film Institute this week.
The DVD set, which contains performances of Synge's entire theatrical canon by Druid theatre company, along with extras including interviews and an RTÉ documentary, was the brainchild of producer Martha O'Neill of Wildfire Films. When O'Neill heard of the company's planned performances of all the writer's plays in one day, she decided that this moment should be recorded for posterity, and the DruidSynge DVD was born.
"It's been a bit of an odyssey," admitted O'Neill, adding that despite the hard work, she was very happy with the result. "It was a privilege. It was important to have it archived for future audiences," she said.
O'Neill was joined at the launch by the project's screen director Ronan Fox, who came on board and worked for free before funding came through, such was his belief in the project. "Seeing the way the cast and crew were putting their hearts and souls into it really rubbed off on me," he admitted.
Many of the actors whose performances have been captured on the DVD also attended the launch, among them Aaron Monaghan, Catherine Walsh, Gemma Reeves and Mick Lally, who described his involvement as "a really enriching experience".
Actor Marie Mullen, who is currently appearing in the Druid production of Long Day's Journey Into Night at the Gaiety Theatre as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival, said the DruidSynge project had been "very exciting".
Speaking at the DVD launch, the plays' director, Garry Hynes, said she was glad to have a record that lasts beyond the performances themselves.
"While we have the reward in Druid of the fabulous experience that it was to rehearse and produce it, and to share it with audiences, that there's now to be a record of it is a tremendous achievement," she said.