The Humours of Bandon
The London premiere...
We are delighted to present this fabulous ‘Hit Show’ which comes straight to the ICC from its sell-out run in Australia. The show, which was previously produced by Fishamble Theatre Company, has been a hit all over Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the USA. This will be the show’s London Premiere!
Book tickets early to avoid disappointment.
Written & Performed By Margaret Mc Auliffe
Directed by Stefanie Preissner
Duration: 60min: Age Guidance: 12yrs+
Doors: 7.30pm; Starts: 8pm
Tickets: £15/13
‘Don’t be afraid of that floor, hammer it!’
Annie is a 16-year-old Irish Dancer from Dublin and we meet her on the eve of the biggest competition of her life, the Irish Open Championships 1999. She charts us through the various successes and disappointments of her Irish Dancing life. We share her mind-numbing commitment and burning desire to win the coveted Irish Open title. Will she win and, if so, in what way?
From the confines of every parochial hall in Ireland, Irish Dancing champions are churned out at a massive rate. Medals and cups build up in drawing rooms and Riverdance swells a national pride, but the public aren’t privy to the blood, sweat and tears that pave the way to the first place podium.
A coming-of-age story, THE HUMOURS OF BANDON is an award-winning play, full of heart, humour and wisdom, for anyone who had a childhood passion that threatened to overwhelm their life.
The Creative Team
Margaret McAuliffe. Writer & Performer
Margaret Mc Auliffe is an actor/writer from Dublin. As an actor she has worked with The Collective, Rough Magic, Collapsing Horse, Fishamble, The Abbey Theatre and many more. Her most recent productions include kitchensinkdrama (The Collective at Dublin Fringe 2022), Much Ado About Nothing (Rough Magic, 2019) and Requiem for the Truth (Collapsing Horse at Bergen Fringe Festival Norway, 2018). As part of the ‘Show in a Bag’ initiative for the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2016 she wrote, produced and performed her smash hit, one-woman show, The Humours of Bandon. The show won the Bewley’s Little Gem Award and Margaret was nominated as Best Performer at the Dublin Fringe Awards, 2016. Fishamble has since produced and toured The Humours of Bandon both nationally and internationally including at; the Edinburgh Fringe 2017, Brighton Festival, UNOFest Victoria Canada and a multi-venue tour of Wales in 2018 as well as touring to Australia and New York in 2019/2020. As a writer, Margaret won the 2017 ZeBBie award for Best Theatre Script, was a recipient of the Pavilion Theatre’s Patron Artists’ Bursary 2017, a member of the Irish Theatre Institute’s Six in the Attic programme and was selected as part of Fishamble’s A Play for Ireland initiative 2018. In 2020 she was awarded funding towards writing a new play through Fingal County Council. She’s currently in development with Treasure Entertainment on a feature adaptation of The Humours of Bandon with Screen Ireland.
Stefanie Preissner. Director and Dramaturg
Stefanie Preissner, Munich-born but Mallow-raised, is the creator of hit comedy-drama series Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope – the show was originally commissioned by RTÉ in Ireland – however both seasons have since broadcast on BBC Three and is available on Netflix Worldwide. Stefanie has also produced a series of short documentaries entitled How To Adult which she presents for RTÉ’s online platform RTE Player. Her podcast for RTE-SITUATIONSHIPS is enjoying great ratings on the iTunes charts. The show is co-hosted with Stefanie’s best friend Rachel Yoder and each episode looks at a different type of relationship and how to navigate it. Her first feature film script has been commissioned and is supported by Parallel Films the Irish Film Board. Her one-woman theatre show, Solpadeine Is My Boyfriend, enjoyed sell-out runs in Dublin before touring internationally to Bucharest, Edinburgh and Australia, and – as a radio play – it became RTÉ’s most downloaded podcast. Stefanie graduated from University College Cork with a BA in Drama and Theatre Studies and Spanish. Alongside her career as a screenwriter and playwright, she has won several awards as an actor. She is a regular contributor to Ireland’s Sunday Independent newspaper and her voice is well-recognised from her prolific voiceover career.
Her first book Why Can’t Everything Just Stay the Same? was nominated for several awards in 2017 and her second book No. It’s a Full Sentence was released in 2019. She is also the host of an award winning podcast Basically with Stefanie Preissner.
Set Design by David Fagan
Script Development by Gavin Kostick
Dramaturgical Assistant Jo Halpin
Produced by Cally Shine
Production Coordinator Ronan Carey
Marketing Dafni Zarkadi & Allie Whelan
★★★★★ “A delight… McAuliffe is a star…… sit back and enjoy this emotional rollercoaster ride.”
– Broadway Baby
★★★★ “Sharp, charming and hilarious”
– The Irish Times
★★★★ “Witty and poignant … told by a performer who has lived and breathed the world she so expertly conveys.’
– The Scotsman
★★★★ “[A] witty and warm… Mc Auliffe, like this rather perfectly formed show, is a winner…’”
– The Times
★★★★ ‘…wonderful… you must see this show!’
– Edinburgh Guide
★★★★ ‘a hilarious and heart warming production that is not to be missed.
– The Arts Review
★★★★ ‘truly breathtaking… dazzling performance that really needs to be seen to be believed.’
– The Reviews Hub
WINNER: Best Theatre Script
Writers’ Guild of Ireland ZeBBie Awards
WINNER of the Little Gem Award
Dublin Fringe Festival 2016
NOMINATED: Best Performer
Dublin Fringe Festival 2016
★★★★★Broadway Baby
★★★★ The Times
★★★★ Edinburgh Guide
★★★★ The List
★★★★ The Scotsman