Eamonn (from Menswear) – Smock Alley – Review

1 – 6 Aug | 8pm | Boys School

Written and composed by Fionn Foley

Fionn Foley is also the sole actor. Eamonn is a committed, twenty something year old shop worker who believes in retail as his creed. He is also the father of a little girl who came into existence with his girlfriend by the usual method even if Eamonn’s Mammy was initially none too pleased. However she got over it.

The stylish set is a small semi-circle of pink carpet at the edge of which are sixteen footlights, one of which is red. In the confined space there is a clothes rack with several shirts hanging on it, some shelving and a circular changing room encircled with a curtain. This is Eamonn’s emporium. The little changing room converts into a karaoke bar with a mini glitter ball as Eamonn is a bit of a karaoke addict. There is a CCTV screen on a table which also reveals the big events in the world immediately prior to Eamonn’s birth. This fun interlude takes place at the start, brings back happy memories of events past and places Eamonn firmly in his own era.

Foley wings through his routine with confidence as he describes Eamonn’s life in the shop and at home with his daughter, including her birth, which is done in rhyme with an odd song thrown in for good measure. It is a high energy performance. He then introduces a priest detective, a clever idea, as the secrecy of the confessional creates a systemic conflict for a detective who naturally likes to obtain a confession in solving a crime. The arrival of the concept of crime leads into shoplifting and then a description of Eamonn’s next door neighbour. Travellers and followers of Islam are then central. Unfortunately some of the language chosen is not generally classed as politically correct. This is subsequently somewhat balanced by a swipe at “green” nationalistic smugness, the indulgences permitted by the use of the great little word “craic” and a final piece of remorse in relation to the next door neighbour.

However, the earlier unfortunate choice of words lingered which is a pity given the verve and discipline which had been applied in the creation of the show.