THE ABBEY THEATRE is staging a production of Jane Austen’s Emma – but this time it’s “brat”.

This adaptation is promised to be a “period-but-playful” retelling of the classic comedy, which follows the title character Emma and her upper-class peers in a Georgian-Regency era England.

Adapted by Kate Hamill and directed by Claire O’Reilly, the play boasts a contemporary soundtrack with the same lovable characters.

For those who are better acquainted with the theatre than TikTok, a quick explanation of the recently-popularised “brat” aesthetic and lifestyle may be useful before making the trip to the Abbey.

The Journal has a handy guide to the concept which you can find here, but in summary the word “brat” took on a new meaning earlier this year upon the release of an album of the same name by British singer Charli XCX.

While some may say the “brat” aesthetic is so June 2024, a remix of the album released just last week titled ‘Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat’ ensures the Abbey has its finger firmly on the pulse.

The cast includes Toni O’Rourke (The Boy That Never Was; God’s Creatures) as Emma, alongside Patrick Martins (Redemption), Clare Barrett (Wild Mountain Thyme), Liz Fitzgibbon (Normal People), Ciara Berkeley (She Said), Domhnall Herdman (Angela’s Ashes), Hannah Mamalis (Republic of Telly), and Damien Kearney (The Wind That Shakes The Barley).

Emma’s life is fun, privileged and party-filled – but it has cost her and that will become very evident in the play.

She was plied with the best education but with nowhere to use it. She is obsessed with matchmaking but dedicated to celibacy, her class collides with the limitations of gender and social pressure leaving this buoyant, extroverted person unsure of her next move.

The play asks: How can you flourish in the world you want when it’s been decided that you can’t fully participate?

Emma will run in the Abbey Theatre from 22 November 2024 to 25 January 2025 and tickets are on sale now.

It’s not the first modern adaptation of the timeless story, with films like Clueless (1995) and the period-style Emma (2020) starring Anya-Taylor Joy (The Queen’s Gambit) creating new generations of fans.