by Nell O’Grady
5th year student at Educate Together Limerick
A PLAY by well-known actor Emmet Kirwan (Dublin Oldschool, Magpie, Ella Enchanted) and the late Cork musician Eoin French, Accents, made its return on Shannonside this past weekend after tremendous success in 2022 to great critical acclaim.
Nominated for best soundscape at the Irish Times Theatre Awards in 2023, this show speaks to the brilliance that emerges from everyday spaces where stories are shaped and voices find their power.
The show was staged at the Belltable on O’Connell Street on February 13 and 14.
Set right before the birth of Kirwan’s, Accents showcases the utter chaos of the fears and self reflection that happens before a new baby arrives.
Kirwan takes a look back at where he hails from, a working class family who settled in a newly built Tallaght estate and a home to parents that worry about the writer’s outspoken, authority-challenging tendencies.
It’s clear the writer sees his past as fundamental puzzle pieces that make him the man he is today, just as his titular accent is a fundamental part of who he is and how he navigates this world.
Accents questions social stereotypes such as how accent and intelligence go hand in hand and how “if you come from violence you become violence”.
The play also looks at the role of the housing crisis on modern day Irish families. Where people were once able to put down stable roots that would last generations, Kirwan now feels as though people are building their castles on sand.
The live music played onstage felt like another actor in its own right, with brilliant melodies that mirrored the storyline of the spoken wordplay – in fact the music was given just as much importance as the dialogue.
Accents proved a real must-see, a show that makes you laugh out loud at the clever one liners and stays with you long after the lights go down.
