They discuss sleepless nights, dirty nappies and cute little cribs. Fatherhood is top of the theatrical bill all through the week in Dublin. The birth of three babies coincides with the opening of a number of new plays.
At the Peacock, Chris Lee, writer of The Map Maker's Sorrow, is able to announce on opening night: "we've just had a baby boy". Over the road, Ben Barnes, director of The Spirit of Annie Ross at the Gate Theatre, is beaming after the birth of a daughter late last month. And two days after that, Mark Lambert, lead in the Gate play, is celebrating the birth of his third child.
The Peacock opening night draws novelist Deirdre Purcell, Cork actor Eileen Walsh and writer Colm Toibin. Also there are Gemma Hussey, former education minister and current director of the European Women's Forum, and Kathy McArdle, new artistic director of the new Project Arts Centre, who has just spent her first day in the new job. No, nobody gave her an apple, she said.
Toibin, who has just been shortlisted for the Booker Prize for The Blackwater Light-ship, came out of his self-imposed seclusion to enjoy the opening. He had just spent a few days on his own - reading, relaxing and listening to the new Mairead Ni Dhomhnaill CD and generally recovering from all the excitement of the Booker announcement. "I didn't make a sound, not once over the few days," he said.
Actor Olwen Fouere was there too - next week she's heading off to New York for a production at BAM - the Brooklyn Academy of Music to you. Bronagh Gallagher, of The Commitments fame, was there too: "I'm just here to see my friend, Neili Conroy, on stage." Before the end of the night Neili's character has her throat cut in a gruesome scene - her father, actor Brendan Conroy, is there to witness it all. And afterwards the girl herself, all gore removed, holds court for a growing fan-club which includes her brother, Ruaidhri, and lots of friends.
The next night stars are tripping over each other at the Gate for The Spirit of Annie Ross. John Hurt is all in black, Gerry Ryan is blue, Jeananne Crowley is aubergine - and there are sequins and diamante to beat the band.
Alan Stanford is there with his wife, Sharon - they've been together for 20 years. They met in Limerick. How long did the courtship last? "Two and a half hours," says a brazen Alan. "It was love at first sight." They chat to writer Paulo Tullio and his wife, Susan Morley, at the interval.
Actor Risteard Cooper and his wife, Suzanne McMahon, are out in style. After a minute, Suzanne sees an opportunity not to be missed: "Please mention The Fireraisers - the Bare Bodkin Theatre Company is doing it in Navan at the end of November."
The play? "It was quite good," says James Cormac Rooney, from Alabama.
At the Abbey for Dolly West's Kitchen, Rosaleen Arulchelvan looks like a picture dressed in baby-pink. It's her first opening night. Her Sri-Lankan husband is home minding their two children. She has come along with her sister.
In another part of the theatre Odette Rocha whispers that, no, she's not wearing a John Rocha number but a vintage dress with Navaho beading from a New York market.
Marie Donnelly, chairwoman of the Irish Hospice Foundation, reports that the millennium Whoseday Book has topped 18,000 sales. Marian Finucane chats to her farmer husband, John Clarke.
Alexandra McGuinness (14), is there with her father, Paul, the U2 manager. Her ambition is to be an actor. "It's the best play I've seen for a long time," she says.