Photo (c) George Carter

Developed as part of Show in a Bag an artist development initiative of Dublin Fringe, Fishamble: The New Play Company and Irish Theatre Institute to resource theatre makers and actors.​

The Humours of Bandon

By Margaret Mc Auliffe
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‘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. 
 
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
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#FishambleTHoB

North American Tour Programme

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Created By

Written & Performed by Margaret Mc Auliffe
Directed by Stefanie Preissner
Set Design by David Fagan
Lighting Design by Eoin Winning
Script Development by Gavin Kostick
Dramaturgical Assistant Jo Halpin
Produced by Cally Shine
Production Coordinator Ronan Carey
Marketing Dafni Zarkadi & Allie Whelan
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Three Monologue Plays for Female Performers - Sonya Kelly, Noni Stapleton, Margaret McAuliffe

€15.00

Published by Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, 2017

Includes The Wheelchair On My Face by Sonya Kelly, Charolais by Nono Stapleton, and The Humours of Bandon​ by Margaret McAuliffe.

THE WHEELCHAIR ON MY FACE

‘I got my first pair of glasses when I was seven. A nurse came to the school and tested everyone’s eyes. And so it was discovered why I’d thrown bread to the floating crisp packets in our local pond and walked into lamp posts and said, ’excuse me’. Until that day the world was a swirl of moving coloured blobs. I thought it was the same for everyone. How wrong I was.’

​WINNER: SCOTSMAN FRINGE FIRST AWARD 2012

CRITICS’ PICK, New York Times​

‘Wonderfully fresh script..highly endearing’

The Sunday Business Post​

CHAROLAIS

​A surreal, black comedy of love, longing and one woman’s intense rivalry with a Charolais heifer. Set on a farm in rural Ireland, Siobhan is forced to share the affections of her farmer boyfriend with the other women in his life – a sneering mother-in-law figure, and a sexy French cow. This is a muddy place of simmering desire, mixing the challenges of farming life and the joy of sex.

​WINNER: LITTLE GEM AWARD Dublin Fringe Festival

WINNER: BEST MONOLOGUE BOUQUET Edinburgh Festival

WINNER: STEWART PARKER TRUST AWARD

“A fast paced, witty, and intensely emotional tale filled with laughter, loss and despair.” 

Irish Times

THE HUMOURS OF BANDON

On the eve of the Irish Open championship, we meet Annie, a 16 year old Dubliner, as 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 Irish Open title. Will she win and, if so, in what way?

WINNER: Best Theatre Script Writers’ Guild of Ireland ZeBBie Awards

WINNER of the Little Gem Award Dublin Fringe Festival 2016

 ‘…witty and warm… McAuliffe, like this rather perfectly formed show, is a winner…’ 

★★★★ The Times

Click for the production pages for The Wheelchair On My Face, Charolais, and The Humours of Bandon.

Shop

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Reviews

‘…a delight… Margaret Mc Auliffe is a star… sit back and enjoy this emotional rollercoaster ride.’
★★★★★ 
Broadway Baby
 
‘…witty and warm… Mc Auliffe, like this rather perfectly formed show, is a winner…’
★★★★ 
The Times
 
‘…wonderful… you must see this show!’
★★★★
Edinburgh Guide

​ ‘witty and poignant… told by a performer who has lived and breathed the world she so expertly conveys.’
★★★★
The Scotsman
 

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'terrific one woman show… by turns sharp, charming and hilarious… All round, a champion turn.’ 
★★★★
The Irish Times
 
‘truly breathtaking… dazzling performance that really needs to be seen to be believed.’ 
★★★★
The Reviews Hub
 
‘a hilarious and heart warming production that is not to be missed.
★★★★
The Arts Review

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Production Shots
Photos (c) Maria Falconer 2017

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Meet the 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.
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Previous Dates

Atlas Performing Arts Center, presented by Solas Nua, Washington DC2023: Irish and International Touring
28 January: St John's Theatre & Arts Centre, Listowel
12 April: Pavilion Theatre Dún Laoghaire
27 April: Irish American Heritage Center, Chicago, IL, supported by Culture Ireland
28 April: Celtic MKE, Milwaukee, WI, supported by Culture Ireland
29 April: Celtic Junction, St Paul, MN, supported by Culture Ireland
30 April: Irish Heritage Center of Greater Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, supported by Culture Ireland
5 May: Bainbridge Performing Arts, Bainbridge Island, WA, supported by Culture Ireland
6-8 May: Odyssey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, supported by Culture Ireland
12 May: San Francisco United Irish Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA, supported by Culture Ireland
16 May: Kansas City Irish Center, Kansas City, MO, supported by Culture Ireland
18 May: New York Irish Center, New York, NY, supported by Culture Ireland
20 May: Irish Cultural Centre of Greater Boston in partnership with The Here Comes Everybody Players, Canton, MA, supported by Culture Ireland
21 May: Irish American Heritage Museum, Albany, NY, supported by Culture Ireland
24 & 26 May: Canada Ireland Foundation presenting at Buddies in Bad Time Theater, Toronto, ON, supported by Culture Ireland
25 May: St. Brigids Centre for the Arts, Ottowa, ON, supported by Culture Ireland
​31 May-11 June: Atlas Performing Arts Center, presented by Solas Nua, Washington DC​.

2019 : Irish and International Touring
10 - 18 Apr: Irish Art Center NYC regional tour that included performances at the Irish Arts Center, New York Irish Center Long Island City, Irish American Center of Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, Mineola, and the Irish Cultural & Sports Association of Southern Connecticut,  supported by Culture Ireland
8 - 11 May: Illwarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong, Australia, supported by Culture Ireland
16 - 18 May: Riverside Theatre, Parramatta, Australia, supported by Culture Ireland
23  -25 May: Brisbane Powerhouse, Brisbane, Australia, supported by Culture Ireland
29 May: Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre, Bunbury, Australia, supported by Culture Ireland
2 Jun: Mountshannon Arts Festival, Mountshannon
30 Jun: Cootehill Arts Festival, Cavan
5 Dec: Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire

2018: Irish and International Touring
3rd Feb: The Dock, Leitrim
6th - 11th Feb: Blackwater Fit Up Festival
24th Feb: Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray
9th - 11th May: UNO Festival, Vancouver, Canada, supported by Culture Ireland
16th - 20th May: Brighton Festival, Brighton, United Kingdom, supported by Culture Ireland
3rd Jun: CAFÉ Festival, Carrabane
16th Nov: Clashmore Fit Up Festival, The Old Schoolhouse, Clashmore
22nd Nov: Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea, Wales, supported by Culture Ireland as part of GB18: Promoting Irish Arts in Britain
24th Nov: Riverfront Theatre, Newport, Wales, supported by Culture Ireland as part of GB18: Promoting Irish Arts in Britain
26th Nov: Ffwrnes, Llanelli, Wales, supported by Culture Ireland as part of GB18: Promoting Irish Arts in Britain
​27th Nov: Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon, Wales, supported by Culture Ireland as part of GB18: Promoting Irish Arts in Britain
1st Dec: Theatr Clwyd, Mold, Wales, supported by Culture Ireland as part of GB18: Promoting Irish Arts in Britain

2017: Irish and International Touring
7th - 8th Feb: Pavilion, Dun Laoghaire
10th Feb: GB Shaw Theatre, Carlow
23rd Feb: Draiocht, Blanchardstown
24th Feb: Siamsa Tire, Tralee
25th Feb: glór, Ennis
28th Feb:​ Hawkswell, Sligo
2nd Mar: axis, Ballymun
4th Mar: Nenagh Arts Centre
6th - 25th Mar: Bewley's at Powerscourt
29th Mar: Linenhall, Castlebar
30th Mar: An Grianán, Letterkenny
2nd Jun: St. John's Theatre, Listowel Writers' Festival
5th - 7th Jul: Clonmel Junction Festival
15th Jul: Birr Theatre, Scripts Festival
25th - 30th Jul: West Cork Fit Up Festival
4th - 28th Aug: Edinburgh Fringe Festival, supported by Culture Ireland
2nd Sep: Electric Picnic
6th Sep: Roscommon Arts Centre
7th Sep: White Horse, Cork
9th Sep: Town Hall Theatre, Galway
14th Sep: Droichead Arts Centre
15th Sep: Backstage, Longford
​16th Sep: Belltable, Limerick
​18th Sep: Clifden Arts Festival
19th Sep: National Ploughing Championships
22nd Sep: Riverbank Arts Centre, Kildare
24th Sep: Cork Arts Theatre, Cork
28th Sep: Dunamaise Arts Centre
1st Oct: Cork Arts Theatre, Cork
2nd Oct: Rossmore Theatre, Rossmore
3rd Oct: Tech Amergin, Waterville
4th Oct: CYMS, Killorglin
6th - 9th Oct: Carnegie Arts Theatre, Kenmare
14th Oct: Solstice Arts Centre, Navan
​1st - 2nd Dec: MAC, Belfast