The Whistle II

Like its predecessor, ‘The Whistle II’ explores interactive performance mechanisms that take the audience down a rabbit hole of intertwining plotlines. The simple mechanism of ‘The Whistle’ invites the audience to take charge of their own experience as the complex layers of the game start to unfold. 

The Whistle II, performed by a juggler, a dancer and a musician, opens up a multitude of new worlds to experience. Taking inspiration from cinema, game design and cognitive behaviour studies the work will play with the fallacies of our minds to bring us to weird and wonderful places. 

‘When you hear the sound of a whistle you must close your eyes. When you hear it again – open them. Are you ready?’ 

Director: Darragh McLoughlin
Performers: Elysia McMullen, Nina Illouz, Donal McConnon
Dramaturge: Declan Mee
Producer: Elysia McMullen
Commissioned by: The National Circus Festival of Ireland 

Squarehead Productions:

Squarehead Productions was founded by Darragh McLoughlin and Elena Kreusch in 2012 as a platform for supporting artistic research and performance; as well as being a space for collaboration with other artists from all fields. Elena departed from the company in 2019 to pursue her own artistic endeavours.

Darragh is a conceptual artist with roots in contemporary circus. His physical practice is centred around different movement practices and research with objects. The body remains a central subject/object within all of his work. Much of his time is spent learning very particular non-functional skills most other people wouldn’t think of and/or bother practicing. His work appears through a multitude of different formats and can be seen as live performances, performance lectures, video installations and visual art works.

His creation methodology has a strong focus on dramaturgy and the role of the audience within a performance context. Many of his influences stem from the fields of cognitive science, psychology, semantics, ludology and aesthetics.

Squarehead Productions’ ethos is to engage with what feels to be ‘meaningful and relevant’ in that moment – with a strong focus on developing this research as tools for creation methods. Each project puts emphasises the role of the audience within a performance context whereby the dramaturgy of the work revolves around the experience of the audience offering them to become co-creators of the work rather than simply spectators. The company currently operates mostly around Darragh’s work, with a shift towards supporting and collaborating with other artists.

Admission free with Convention Ticket or book directly via Siamsa Tíre.
(Admission for one person is €20, Family (4): €50, Family (5) €65 +bf.)