Stories allow Mary Kate to make a show of herself

Mary Kate’s day job is as a story consultant for film and television, which she loves But, at night when she tells her true-life stories on stage to an audience, she gets a whole other lease of life.

She’s been doing it for many years now, and in 21015, she claimed the title of Ireland’s Grand Slam Champion Storyteller at the Moth, at the Abbey Theatre. She has since won the title of Grand Slam Champion Storyteller at the Moth in Los Angeles and a Champion Storyteller at the Dublin StorySlam on several occasions.

Her story about her father’s death and how she and her sisters carried his coffin shoulder-high is available on the Moth Radio Hour.  It went viral on TikTok around Fathers’ Day last year, gaining over 1.4 million views in two days. It has been included in The Top Ten Stories on The Moth on PBS radio, as well as being named by many people as their favourite Moth story ever.

Mary Kate has since distilled some of her Moth and Story Slam stories for the 75-minute piece that is Making a Show of Myself.  She is a firm believer in the “power and magic of story” and that is why she has brought this show on the road, telling personal stories, “the silliest, most embarrassing, most painful, happiest and proudest moments, to share my faith in stories and hopefully, win a few converts”.

Describing storytelling as her “religion”, she says she has “come to believe that by shaping a story, we reclaim our own narratives and that changes the course of our lives”.

Praised by critics for its sincerity and life-affirming tone, Making A Show of Myself comes to Galway as part of a national tour following two sellout runs in Dublin.

For anyone wanting a sneak preview, the story of her dad’s funeral is available on The Moth Radio Hour at: https://themoth.org/stories.

Tickets for Mary Kate’s Galway show next Friday, are €20/18, plus booking fee, at tht.ie, 091-569777 or  from the box office.

Pictured: Mary Kate O’Flanagan