4 Plays in a Day: THE HUMOURS OF BANDON
Skibbereen Arts Festival is proud to present, The Humours of Bandon by Margaret Mc Auliffe, directed by Stefanie Preissner on Wednesday 2nd August 2023.
This multi-award winning coming of age drama is set in the heady world of competitive Irish Dancing. From its superlative debut at the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2016, The Humours of Bandon was hence picked up by Fishamble: The New Play Company and toured extensively both nationally and internationally from 2017-2023 including a highly successful four-week sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it was listed at no. 11 in the top 20 reviewed shows during its first week. It’s just back from playing a 7 week North American tour in May/June 2023 where it played to sold out houses and more excellent reviews.
Picking up two awards; The Bewley’s Café Theatre’s Little Gem award at the Dublin Fringe Festival and Best Theatre Script at the Irish Writer’s Guild ZeBBie awards in 2017, the play is currently being developed by Treasure Entertainment and Screen Ireland and is published by Bloomsbury Methuen Drama.
West Cork audiences might remember this show from its highly successful performances at the West Cork Fit Up Festival in July 2017. Following a Covid induced two-year hiatus, the show’s writer and performer Margaret Mc Auliffe is bringing it back to her beloved West Cork for Theatre Day as part of Skibbereen Arts Festival 2nd August 2023. You do not want to miss this hilarious account of the trials and tribulations of Ireland’s competitive Irish Dance scene…
‘Don’t be afraid of that floor, hammer it!’
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, how?
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.
The Humours of Bandon is a coming of age story, 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 2017
WINNER of the Little Gem Award
Dublin Fringe Festival 2016
NOMINATED: Best Performer
Dublin Fringe Festival 2016
For performances in 2023, reviews are available online from –
The Washington Post, The Washington City Paper, DC Theater Arts and Maryland Theatre Guide
★★★★★ The Irish Times ★★★★ The Reviews Hub ★★★★ TN2 Magazine
★★★★★Broadway Baby ★★★★ The List ★★★★ The Stage
★★★★ The Times ★★★★ The Scotsman ★★★★ Broadway World
★★★★ Edinburgh Guide ★★★★ Sunday Business Post ★★★★ The Fringe Review