It may have been the opening night of Deep Space at the Project @ the Mint on Tuesday, but it was not the first. Alex Johnston (who both wrote and acted in the play) and Bedrock director, Jimmy Fay, had already raised the curtains on the production in both the Adelaide Fringe festival and at the small but prestigious Bush theatre in London - and each opening night earned rave reviews.
So unsurprisingly, there was a number of dedicated theatre-goers there to catch the Irish premiere. Of course there was a large Johnston family contingent - Alex is the grandson of playwright Denis Johnston - including his cousin Josh Johnston, a musician who had just finished work on a series about crossover music, U-Bends for Seamus Crimmins in FM3. Among the many actors who seem to turn up at opening nights was Ciara O'Callaghan, who not so long ago was treading the Project boards herself in Loose Cannon's Coriolanus. Ciara, accompanied by her partner and fellow actor, Pascal Friel, is back at work with a vengeance; there is a Short Cuts film as Gaeilge to be made and a dance work called Spring to be devised. Spring sounds like it's going to be a fashion show with a difference. Under the direction of Caimin Collins (previously associate artistic director with Siamse Tire, the national folklore theatre), the work of six young fashion designers will be put on the backs of dancers and actors who are plotting a performance around the clothes. John Rocha will open the show in Temple Bar Galleries on April 21st, and one of the highlights promises to be the menswear collection of young designer Daniel Kearns. Daniel, who is currently doing an MA in fashion design in London, has recently been offered a job with Italian fashion giants, Dolce & Gabbana.