UpDown Circus Festival is brought to you by Pitch'd Productions. We have a vision to create performances for a wide and diverse audience using primarily the Circus and Street Art forms. We value the experience and engagement of our audiences, and will seek new and innovative ways to achieve quality participation. We strive to support and sustain ourselves, and those we work with through good governance and best practice in all our creative and business endeavours. We aspire to support the development of the wider Circus and Street Performance sector through advocacy, education and creative development opportunities.
An annual festival offers us time to celebrate the art form that we love in the city that we cherish. Festival time is only the flowering of a team working throughout the year, and partnerships that developed through years of collaboration and trust. It’s a time artists, arts workers and audiences can come together to see new work, meet new people, and have new experiences.
2026 will be the 2nd edition of UpDown Circus Festival, and the full programme will be launched in July.
Those behind cultural events are key to ensuring that artists, audiences, partners, and the team itself, all enjoy the festival.
Production Manager
Edan Ray started his musical journey as a bass player, before moving on to composing and sound design for acrobatic, dance and circus shows. A great interest in music technology allowed him to find a niche where creativity and technicality meet. Specialising in concert and theatre sound, he expanded his knowledge into event production, and has developed a key working relationship with Cormac and Aysegul.
Artist Liaison / Perfomer
Noelle Ní Riagain is Joint Artistic Director of Pitch’d Productions, and will have 2 roles in this year’s festival. The first being Artist Liaison, as her hospitality knows no bounds, and the second as a performer in “Now and Then” alongside Lidija Sola.
Graphic / Web Design
Designs brands, websites and objects. Enjoys good design in all forms. Once upon a time engaged in circus acrobatics, now just a clown, content with bringing his ideas to life with just a pencil and a mouse. Sole proprietor of Firelight Design Co. Usually refuses to speak about himself in third person but dislikes inconsistently presented information more.
Festival Producer
In 2022, Aysegul Yuzel graduated from the UCC MA in Arts Management and Creative Producing and was quickly snapped up by IndieCork Film Festival for her producing skills and temperament. In 2024, she was awarded the Promenade Future Producers award and has been working as Project Manager for Promenade since February 2025. She is also the current Project Coordinator of Creative Places Tipperary Town. Aysegul is the engine that keeps the show on the road!
Festival Director
Cormac Mohally is a juggling aficionado, and lover of all things Circus. Trained at Belfast Circus School in 1999, he toured the world performing comedy dance acrobatics with Lords of Strut, and founding member of Circus Factory. Running a festival has been a way for Cormac to reconnect with his home city after spending over a decade touring the world, and to support and showcase the wealth of circus artists who live on the island of Ireland to Cork audiences.
