Cork's Circus Factory helps theatre group to break down barriers

Cork’s Circus Factory recently welcomed a charity which champions diversity and equity in the performing arts for a special week-long residency.

The Factory hosted a group of young people from Breaking Barriers Theatre Group, ranging in age from seven to 18, all of whom live with neuro-physical disabilities.

Working with UK rigging experts ExtraOrdinary Bodies, Circus Factory members rigged the visitors’ wheelchairs to enable them to fly.

It was the culmination of an 18-month collaboration between Circus Factory and Breaking Barriers Theatre Group.

The group is based at the Crann Centre, an Ovens-based charity providing lifelong solutions for children, adults, and families living with neuro-physical disabilities like cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and spinal cord injuries.

Working with Circus Factory, members of Breaking Barriers have learned circus skills such as juggling, plate spinning, hula hooping, and flower sticks, before ending the project on a literal high by rigging their wheelchairs to fly.

Some participants showcased their skills last year during the National Children’s Day celebrations in City Hall.

Incredibly rewarding

Tara O’Donovan, Crann Centre social capital lead, said the charity’s partnership with Circus Factory had been incredibly rewarding for the children and young people attending Breaking Barriers.

“It has enabled us to create more opportunities for accessible and equitable experiences in theatre and the arts, and you can see the confidence, joy and camaraderie grow,” she said.

The parent of a young person who attended the project said: “He enjoyed it so much, and after the first day, he couldn’t wait to come back and try it again.

“The excitement each morning was just a joy to witness, and for him to be able to access these kinds of activities was once in a lifetime.

“Unforgettable experience and the joy and laughter when you go into the room to watch each child of different abilities having the time of their lives,” they added.

Founded in 2000, Circus Factory started out as a small grass roots collective when five students from Belfast Circus School came to Cork to set up the Cork Community Circus Project.

It is a regional hub for the provision of circus and street arts in Cork and the south west of Ireland, and it offers circus education and training for children and adults all year round. It also hosts a circus and street arts festival every year.

Collaborative programme

While its work with Breaking Barriers was a one-off project, Circus Factory is hoping to make this a long-term project.

Its management team is applying for funding to bring together youth groups from The Crann Centre to work with them on a collaborative programme.

Concurrently, Circus Factory is also working toward its goal of being truly accessible.

While its premises is currently accessible by wheelchair, it isn’t wheelchair-accessible.

Its team hopes to secure funding to install a wheelchair-accessible toilet, a wheelchair-accessible ramp.

The management team also has a more ambitious long-term goal to secure a new building that is big enough to accommodate this work so it can be a permanent offering in Cork.

They also hope to buy their own winch and train staff so they can carry out the work independently.