GILL BYRNE
Gill Byrne is an Irish circus artist specializing in dance trapeze, hula hoop, and fire performance, with a BA in Drama (Performance), and a deep background in dance, movement, and outdoor pursuits. Gill's involvement with circus arts began in 2016. She currently performs multi-hoop manipulation, aerial dance, and fire spectacles across Ireland.
Over 2023 and 2024 her work was focused on creating her first long-form piece "Working Load Limit"; while performing two solo dance trapeze pieces "Like Water", "Otherworld", and multi-hoop act "Hoopdeboop". She has performed in “Samhain Circus” and “Pyro Collective" with Broken Theatre, “HOUSE!" with Fidget Feet, and "Prologue" with Twisted Lane Productions . Her creative work is deeply inspired by connection to natural landscapes in an urban and digitalized society.
She has been kindly supported by the Arts Council, Irish Aerial Creation Centre and ISACS through funding and residency programmes. When not on stage, Gill can be found happily rigging for circus and large scale events, or teaching aerial.
Image credits below:
Photo 1: Adrian O'Connell at Púca Festival 2023 Broken Theatre
Photo 3: Adrian O'Connell, Lyco Torch, Púca ItchyFeet
Photo 4: Jym Daly, Like Water
Photo 5: Adrian O'Connell
Photo 6: Adrian O'Connell at Púca Festival
Projects
Working Load Limit
Working Load Limit is a multidisciplinary contemporary circus show exploring the impact of technology on the human psyche. Through a captivating blend of aerial dance, rigging, physical theatre, with live soundscape and projections responding in real time creating an immersive sensory experience. This show challenges the value of urban rise-and-grind culture against the pace of the natural world, and asks what is the cost of being contactable at all times?
Credits:
Working Load Limit has been supported by Irish Aerial Creation Centre (IACC), Fidget Feet Aerial Dance Theatre Company, Irish Aerial Dance Fest (IADF), Cork Midsummer Festival, Circus Factory.
Practical Information
Working Load Limit tech rider / dossier
Extra Info:
It is a non-verbal show with some spoken text that can be performed in both English and Spanish. Suitable for 10+ years. Show Length: 45 minutes. Stage height: Minimum usable stage height of 7m. Technical Rider available upon request.
Photo credits:
Jym Daly Photos 1-4
Ewandro Magno Photos 5-9