Cuckoo-Land
Written By: Vittoria Cafolla
Music and Lyrics By: Katie Richardson
Directed By: Paula McFetridge
Production Premiere: April 2026 @ The MAC
1996.
Northern Ireland’s on the brink.
Politics is a boys’ club, and we’re done pretending otherwise.
This high‑voltage piece of gig theatre smashes open the true story of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition.
Set against the chaos of a world pre‑Good‑Friday‑Agreement, Cuckoo Land captures the reality these women faced: heckling, misogyny, mockery, threats, and the relentless pressure to leave the “real politics” to the men.
But they didn’t.
They built a party from the ground up in six weeks, recruited a hundred candidates, and walked into negotiations with a manifesto grounded in equality, human rights, and cooperation.
This is the story of what happens when women crash the party, refuse to behave, and drag a country toward a different future, one cigarette and late‑night strategy session at a time.
Cuckoo Land is finally gives these women the spotlight — loud, bright, and long overdue.
CREATIVE TEAM
Creative Team:
Written by: Vittoria Cafolla
Music and Lyrics By: Katie Richardson
Directed by: Paula McFetridge
Set Design: Tracey Lindsay
Costume Design: Enda Kenny
Audiovisual design: Fergus Wachala-Kelly
Lighting Design: Mary Tumelty
Movement Direction: Paula O’Reilly
Voice Coach: Judith McSpadden
Production Manager: Sinéad Owens
Stage Manager: Caitlín Hunter
Sound Engineer: Beth Tays
Graphic Design: Laura Craig
PR: Gary Kelly
Social Media and Outdoor Marketing: Whitenoise Studios
Producers: Ronan McManus (Kabosh), Julie Stewart (The Mac)
Cast:
Maeve Byrne
Caroline Curran
Orla Gormley
Allison Harding
Orla Mullan
Cheylene Murphy
Christina Nelson
Jackie Rainey
Funded by