When: August 23rd @ 11AM - 4PM
Duration: All day event with pop up show
Where: Elizabeth Fort
Tickets: Free, but need to register
Age: All ages, family friendly
A sweet story about a little fairy who fights to make things right in her world. This show brings the audience on a journey to normalise big emotions and other neurodivergent features. Everyone is invited to stim along with the show, learning what feels good in their bodies and why some people love to move around so much. This work seeks to promote positive representation for neurodivergent individuals through storytelling.
"This show has appeared on many wonderful stages including Meeting House Square, Chester Beatty, Wood Quay Amphitheatre and Merrion Square for Sensoria. This marks it’s first run in Cork and I’m incredibly excited to share it with my hometown! I make art about autism because I believe everyone should be accepted and understood. When we celebrate differences, that strengthens our communities. We all have the power to make life more fun and interesting for each other, that power turns our collective vulnerability into collective strength." - Moss
Circus Factory is wheelchair accessible, with a wooden ramp with steel grips leading up to the venue with a wooden grab rail. The toilets in the building are not wheelchair accessible.
Guide dogs are welcome throughout the space.
Moss has been creating circus performances for over a decade using storytelling, clown, dance, prop manipulation, fire, voice and songwriting to draw audiences into her inner world. Moss enjoys themes of mythology, music and emotion and recently, has begun combining two of her special interests, Circus and Neurodivergence.
Moss seeks to educate audiences in the best way possible, through fun! Brain varieties should be celebrated and Moss is passionate about making work that helps autistic and other neurodivergent people feel seen, while allowing others to see these differences both clearly and kindly. She fully embraces the role of the artist as activist, making work on a wide range of cultural aspects.
Dramaturg: Jude O'Neill
Mentor: Jody O'Neill
Jude O'Neill
Judenald AKA Jude O'Neill
Telling the tale of a Queer Irish experience, sharing a story of trauma, fear and hope.
Jude is a performer, a creator, a commentator. Philosopher, poet, and musician.
A living, feeling human - an Artist.
They create moments - experiences for humans to contact their humanness.
Whether a viewer applauds or not, so long as they felt or thought something more is the central
point to their artistic creation.
Jude's circus and performance practice incorporates a wealth of other artistic disciplines including
dance, theatre, music, writing & poetry, costume design, lighting design and fine art.
Their recent work revolves around the human body and more specifically how it continually carries
every cry, every laugh and every bruise it has experienced.
They are also researching the impact that community has on artistic practice and the creative
process.
Jody O'Neill
Jody is an autistic writer, performer, creative producer and disability advocate, based in Dublin. She has spent the past five years researching and developing making inclusive theatre that promotes acceptance, accessibility and social change. She wrote and co-produced (with The Abbey Theatre) the award-winning play, What I (Don’t) Know About Autism.
She was Theatre Artist-in-Residence at UCC and Cork Opera House from 2022-24, received a 2022 Markievicz Award, and was shortlisted for the Virgin Media Discovers Award 2022.
She is actively engaged in artist development. She offers dramaturgical input, mentorship and practical support in developing work (including advice on applications, development opportunities, etc.) to other artists. She recently founded The Working Group, an online work and peer support space for neurodivergent artists and creators. She facilitated the Abbey Begins programme for the Abbey Theatre in 2021. She was co-founder and curator of Project Brand New – a multidisciplinary new work platform at Project Arts Centre for several years.
Jody advises and supports various organisations, including St Patrick’s Festival, The Abbey Theatre, National Concert Hall, Cork Opera House and The Everyman on accessibility and relaxed performance. She was a keynote speaker at the 2021 Middletown Centre for Autism conference.
In 2024, Jody was a key partner in the inaugural Neuroconvergence event at Richmond Barracks with Happenings Ireland, supported by Dublin City Council. In 2023, Jody co-produced Neurofestivity, a festival of neurodivergent art as part of her residency at UCC and Cork Opera House.
A key focus of her work at the moment is creating greater access to the Arts for disabled people through creatively embedding access across all areas of creation and production processes.
Other recent theatre projects and engagements include: The Selfish Giant (commission for The Gate Theatre); Grace (Graffiti Theatre Company/Cork Midsummer 2024); Home Sweet Home (Suisha Arts/Cope Foundation with Cork Midsummer Festival 2024); Out of the Ordinary – A VR community opera with Irish National Opera; Seaside Conversations – a project with Enable Ireland, funded by Dublin Theatre Festival’s Futures initiative, exploring the responses and experiences of adults with disabilities to the pandemic; what the telly saw - a commission from Mermaid County Wicklow Arts Centre, funded by the Arts Council.
In addition to theatre work, she has worked with CBBC, JAM Media, Cartoon Saloon and Little Moon Animation, writing for pre-school animation series, BeddyByes, Silly Sundays and Fia’s Fairies. She has original animation work in development, funded by Screen Ireland.
Jody is the recipient of a 2023 Arts Council Literature Agility Award to fund the development of a collection of short stories and a 2024 Arts Council Theatre Bursary.
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