The actors Barry Murphy, Risteard Cooper and Gary Cooke are behind the scenes getting into character. "Okey-dokey, we're about to go live", says Cooper in the inimitable Cork tones of RTE's anchorman Bill O'Herlihy.
Out front there's no sign of the targeted subjects they mimick on stage - individuals such as Eamon Dunphy, Bill O'Herlihy, John Giles and Marty Whelan are not in evidence. Dunphy's son is rumoured to be in the house but it's very dark in Vicar Street. The venue is filling up for the opening night of the satirical comedy show, Apres Match, which runs until Friday, August 18th.
It's a thrilling kind of night. Even the three doormen, who work as a team, are ready to burst into song. No-one notices that Matty Walsh, Brian Fitzpatrick and John McGuinness are primed to sing. "Hit it, Fitz," says Walsh. Ah, sure, the punters pass them by without a second glance. Actor Mark Doherty, is about to go in. He's currently writing "a few bits" and doing "a couple of filmy bits" such as Rebelheart, a four-part television series. Arthur Riordan, another actor and writer, is working with comedian Des Bishop, writing a "hip hop musical, taking in most of Ireland's history" for this year's Dublin Fringe Festival.
The cartoonist Tom Mathews is here, stepping lightly through the throng. Both RTE's Mary Wilson and Tony O'Donoghue are looking forward to the show. Pauline McLynn is also looking forward to it. She says her second book is nearly finished, and that her artist mother, Sheila McLynn, was delighted with the success of "a sell out exhibition" in Galway recently. But some hush is called for as the lights go down. We're about to go live for a stage performance of the Apres Match live show. Sssssshhhh.