Accents – Ambassador Theatre – Review
by Frank L.

Accents written by Emmet Kirwan with music composed by Eoin French

In its original iteration at the Dublin Fringe 2022, Kirwan performed with three musicians, including the composer Eoin French. However, in July 2024, French died of cancer at the age of 36. Kirwan now returns with just two musicians, but French’s music remains quintessential, a fact that Kirwan acknowledged in a brief, heartfelt tribute at the end of the piece.

Kirwan underwent a life-changing experience when he became a father at the age of forty-one. That caused him to reflect on many aspects of his life, particularly the lives of his immediate family including his mother and aunts and the places they haunted when growing up, namely Baggot Street and Leeson Street. As a father, he contemplates where he will find a “soft” place to bring up his son. He naturally has hopes and expectations for his son. Kirwan is also deeply conscious of the society in Tallaght in which he was brought up and now lives. Kirwan brings the housing shortage centre stage, discussing its impact on young families. His skills as a writer and as a thinker enable him to weld these two principal themes into an artistic whole.

The stage consists of remarkably little other than two raised platforms on which Ben Bix and Brian (The Line) Dillon play an array of musical equipment with Zia Bergin-Holly’s design creating a multiplicity of lighting effects.

The music and the lighting all add to the linguistic phenomenon of Kirwan in full flow. He understands the sounds which words make with different accents. He understands their rhythms and how they can be combined. He delivers them very often at great speed and his diction never fails. It is heightened by his easy-flowing movements as he glides around the stage.  Kirwan is mesmerising to watch. The only criticism of the piece was that once or twice the volume of the accompanying music made his words difficult to hear for a brief period.

Kirwan’s humanity is at the forefront as he charts this journey, which is both personal and political. French is not around now to hear the applause but Kirwan’s performance and the music as played by Bix and Dillon keep French centre stage. The entire production is a stimulating and uplifting hour of live performance.

PERFORMED by: Emmet Kirwan
MUSIC by Ben Bix and Brian Dillon

CREATIVE TEAM:
Directed by Claire O’Reilly
Written by Emmet Kirwan
Composed by Eoin French

Lighting Design by Zia Bergin-Holly
Running Time: 65 mins approx.

Ambassador Theatre, Dublin
Opens: Thursday 16 + Friday 17 + Saturday 18 January @ 7.30pm
Tickets: €34.90 to €54.90, service charge may apply