Ireland's Fishamble to Bring THE HUMOURS OF BANDON To Odyssey Theatre For Three Performances

'Don't be afraid of that floor, hammer it!' Odyssey Theatre Ensemble and Fishamble: The New Play Company in association with Solas Nua will present writer/performer Margaret Mc Auliffe in The Humours of Bandon, an award-winning coming-of-age story for anyone who had a childhood passion that threatened to overwhelm their life. Three performances only take place May 6, May 7 and May 8.

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 community 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 the winner of the Bewley's Little Gem Award, and Mc Auliffe was nominated as best performer at the 2016 Dublin Fringe Awards. Fishamble has since produced and toured the show nationally and internationally including to the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe, Brighton Festival, UNOFest Victoria Canada and a multi-venue tour of Wales in 2018 as well as touring to Australia and New York in 2019-20.

The creative team includes set designer David Fagan and lighting designer Eoin Winning. Script development is by Gavin Kostick, and the dramaturgical assistant is Jo Halpin. Eva Scanlan and Cally Shine produce. The Humours of Bandon is presented by the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, Ron Sossi, artistic director, and Fishamble, Ireland's new play company, in association with Solas Nua. The Humours of Bandon was developed as part of Show in a Bag, an artist development initiative of Dublin Fringe Festival, Fishamble: The New Play Company, and Irish Theatre Institute, to resource theater makers and actors. This North American tour is supported by Culture Ireland.

The Humours of Bandon marks Fishamble's fifth co-production with the Odyssey Theatre, following Pat Kinevane's Forgotten, Silent, Underneath and Before. Ireland's Fishamble discovers, develops and produces new plays of national importance with a global reach. It has toured its productions to audiences throughout Ireland and to 19 other countries. It champions the role of the playwright, typically supporting over 50% of the writers of all new plays produced on the island of Ireland each year. Fishamble has received many awards in Ireland and internationally, including an Olivier Award.

A pioneer in the intimate theater movement, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble remains one of Los Angeles' most adventurous companies, offering world-class live theater experiences for over five decades. Whether it be an original new play, a bold re-envisioned classic, or something hot off the international theater circuit, the Odyssey strives to be provocative, mind-bending and emotionally potent. As an artist-run venture, this unique company is always multicultural in both intent and practice, serving the wonderfully diverse ethnic mix of the Los Angeles community.

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 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.

Three performances of The Humours of Bandon take place on Saturday, May 6 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, May 7 at 3 p.m.; and Monday, May 8 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 on Saturday and Sunday, and Pay-What-You-Can on Monday. The Odyssey Theatre is located at 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles, 90025. For more information and to purchase tickets, call (310) 477-2055 or go to OdysseyTheatre.com.

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