THE big question among first-nighters in the bar of the Gate after the opening of Art on Tuesday night was not whether the all-white canvas at the centre of the plot was art but whether Irish men would ever discuss their relationships in a similar way. "It should be sub-titled `Middle-aged men behaving badly'," quipped Mark Lambert, one of the three-strong cast.
Lambert, who has just turned down work on McAdam, the new RTE series to be filmed shortly, was chatting to art collector Gordon Lambert. David Pugh, who produced Art with actor Sean Connery in London's West End - they will also be taking it to New York - breezed through to compliment Mark on his performance.
Michael Mortell, who has now changed his attentions from the play's costumes, which he designed, to his own rainwear collection arrived with designer John Rocha, while RTE was out in force with Mike Murphy pausing on his way in to chat to Gay Byrne and Kathleen Watkins, with producer David Blake Knox not far behind.
When the action moved from the stage to the bar, the place was awash with artists and actors; Patrick Scott, Gerald Davis, John Coyle and Robert Ballagh (who designed the sets) among the former; David Kelly, Barry McGovern and John Kavanagh among the latter. The latest candidates for a separated at birth award are actor Alan Stanford and author Paolo Tullio who looked remarkably similar - with slicked-back hair.
Tullio was elated, having just found a publisher for his novel, The Mushroom Man. "I'm sure everybody's going to say it's a roman a clef as it's set in a loosely disguised Wicklow and features characters not unlike my friends. But sure it's all about sex and drugs and what experience would I have of that?" he wondered.
Stanford also has a book up his sleeve - of poetry. He'll publish it when he's feeling brave enough, he said. "It's just you when it's poetry; you can't pretend it's about anyone else like you can when you're acting."