Brian Francis Devaney
Brian is an actor, director, writer, producer, musician, facilitator, and social entrepreneur based between Sligo, Ireland, and Tallinn, Estonia. Since 2015, he has been an ensemble member of Blue Raincoat Theatre Company, Ireland’s only full-time professional ensemble, and is the founder and Artistic Director of Branching Out Art CLG and its multi-disciplinary venue The Nest, a creative hub for artists on Custom House Quay in Sligo.
His training has been shaped by a wide range of disciplines. Each year Brian continues professional development with the Blue Raincoat Theatre Academy, specialising in corporeal mime, physical theatre, voice and singing through the Roy Hart method, and dance/movement. He has also studied puppetry, shadow and object manipulation, percussion and rhythm, meditation, and intuitive pedagogy in Sweden and Estonia. Further influences include movement research with Stefan Cranic, Josephine Hass (Fighting Monkey), and Movement Practice Paris. This variety of training underpins his belief in theatre as a space where rhythm, voice, body, and imagination intersect.
Alongside theatre, Brian works as a live and studio Foley and music artist, with credits across theatre, radio, film, and television. He has performed as a puppeteer for RTÉjr and recently collaborated with filmmaker Cléa van der Grijn on her Arts Council–funded Authored Works film project (2024).
In Estonia, Brian co-founded Nähtamatu Teater (Invisible Theatre), which creates audio-sensory performances designed for visually impaired and blindfolded audiences. As a musician, he performs with Cú, a Nordic–Celtic ensemble blending original instrumental compositions with traditional influences. Cú are currently composing for Rakvere Teater in Estonia and collaborating with Know Promises Theatre Collective on Lámh. He also leads drumming and rhythm circles with Rúach Rhythms, facilitating workshops for participants of all ages and abilities.
In 2024, Brian was awarded the Theatre Project Award (Strand 2) by the Arts Council of Ireland to develop a multidisciplinary work inspired by the life and death of Johnny Patterson, the 19th-century Irish singing clown. Blending Irish dance, physical theatre, clowning, aerial silk, and live traditional music, this piece explores both the public and private faces of performance and is planned to expand into a full-scale production.
Kyle Conlon
Kyle Gerald Conlon is a Sligo-based actor and theater-maker whose work is rooted in raw, character-driven storytelling that blends physical precision with emotional honesty. A graduate of the BA in Performing Arts, Kyle has developed a practice that is unflinching, immediate, and alive in the moment. Whether on stage or in the rehearsal room, he brings an intensity and presence that anchors his performances in truth.
Kyle has performed in a range of productions across the North-West of Ireland, including work with Rabbit’s Riot Theater Company and Blue Raincoat Theatre Company. In 2025, he appeared at the Cairde Arts Festival in Broken Clay, a new work developed with Know Promises Theater Collective, which was met with an enthusiastic response from audiences. He is currently preparing for Homesick with Rabbit’s Riot, which will premiere at the Dublin Fringe Festival in September 2025.
His process as a performer is shaped by a deep commitment to the body as an instrument of expression. He has trained in physical theater, improvisation, puppetry, and voice, as well as in radio drama and voice over performance. This breadth of training has given him a sharp attention to rhythm, detail, and physicality, which he brings to every role. Kyle thrives in parts that demand full presence, focus, and emotional truth, and continues to expand his practice across different performance styles and disciplines.
Beyond performance, Kyle is equally committed to the creation of new work. As a founding member of Know Promises Theatre Collective, he is passionate about developing theater that is bold, intimate, and unapologetically human. His artistic interests are centered on exploring the contemporary Irish experience, particularly themes of isolation, resilience, and transformation. He thrives in collaborative environments where risk-taking and authenticity drive the creative process, and where theater can act as a mirror to the complexity of modern life.
Kyle’s work reflects a belief in theater as an act of connection — between performers and audience, between individual and community. Through each project, he seeks to craft moments of immediacy and honesty that resonate beyond the stage, creating performances that are not only seen but deeply felt.
Doris Vahtra
Doris is an Estonian actor, dancer, and theatre-maker whose work spans stage, film, and interdisciplinary performance. Her practice is rooted in movement, experimentation, and play, guided by a philosophy that creativity is a way of seeing and engaging with the world. She approaches each project with curiosity, commitment, and an openness to collaboration, embracing both performance and production roles across theatre, film, musicals, photography, and stage design.
As a performer, Doris has worked with Know Promises Theatre Collective, appearing in Crow Coma (2023) and The Rambler (2024). Her performances are characterized by physical precision, imaginative presence, and a willingness to explore challenging material, balancing technical skill with emotional truth. She also contributes behind the scenes, bringing her creativity to scenography, movement direction, and stagecraft, making her a versatile and engaged member of any production team.
Doris has trained extensively with the Blue Raincoat Theatre Academy in Sligo, where she has studied physical theatre, voice, and ensemble work under the mentorship of Ann Bogart. This training emphasizes rigorous physical and vocal technique while fostering collaborative storytelling, improvisation, and risk-taking in performance. She has also been accepted to a workshop with David Glass, a renowned theatre artist known for his innovative approaches to movement, ensemble work, and devising. This experience is expanding her understanding of the body as an instrument of storytelling and deepening her capacity for embodied, experimental performance.
Her artistic process is guided by play and experimentation — testing the limits of the body, exploring voice and text, and investigating the possibilities of movement in space. She draws inspiration from abstract, psychological, and documentary forms of art, always seeking to create work that challenges conventions and opens new ways of experiencing theatre. For Doris, creativity is not simply about achieving a finished product; it is about expressing truth, cultivating presence, and connecting with audiences through authentic, embodied performance.
Through her ongoing practice and training, Doris continues to develop as a performer and maker, committed to work that is rigorous, imaginative, and alive, blending skill, playfulness, and insight into every project she undertakes.
Nell Garcia
Nell is a French performer, circus artist, and actor whose work spans theatre, circus, and interdisciplinary performance. She is the brainchild behind Broken Clay, bringing a fearless curiosity, physicality, and inventive spirit to the ensemble’s work. Her artistic practice is rooted in exploration, risk-taking, and a commitment to pushing the boundaries of both body and imagination.
Nell’s journey began in her hometown of Montpellier, where she trained for three years at the Cie. Maritime acting school, developing a strong foundation in theatre and performance. Her move to Paris exposed her to a rich tapestry of culture and storytelling, inspiring her to write and experiment with new forms of expression. Seeking deeper physical and organic modes of performance, she then relocated to Ireland, where language and cultural challenges pushed her toward corporeal, visual, and experimental theatre practices, emphasizing the expressive power of the body.
Her exploration of physical performance naturally led her to circus arts. Nell began with juggling, fire breathing, aerial silks, and hoop, before moving to Valencia, Spain, to train intensively in acrobatics, trapeze, juggling, and clowning at Espai de Circ and CREAT circus schools. These experiences shaped her as a versatile performer, equally at home in aerial and acrobatic performance as she is on stage as an actor and deviser.
In 2024, Nell is focused on her career as a flying trapeze artist, aerialist, juggler, and clown, while also undertaking a year-long training program in circus and theatre facilitation to develop her pedagogical skills. Clowning remains central to her practice, allowing her to explore physical expression, vulnerability, and humour, and she is continuing to develop her techniques in this field.
Nell’s personal and creative work is driven by curiosity, adventure, and social inquiry. She is particularly interested in deconstructing taboos surrounding gender identity, women’s rights, and societal norms, using performance as a space to interrogate, question, and inspire dialogue. Her artistic ethos embraces collaboration, experimentation, and the pursuit of new possibilities, reflecting her belief in performance as a transformative, liberating, and boundary-expanding practice.
Through her work with Broken Clay and other performance projects, Nell continues to forge new paths in circus and theatre, combining daring physicality, inventive storytelling, and a deeply human perspective to create work that is bold, immersive, and unforgettable
Dylan McGloin
Dylan McGloin is an Irish theatre artist and performance designer whose practice bridges set design, devising, and actor-led creation. Based in Ireland, Dylan works across theatre, ensemble creation, and interdisciplinary performance, bringing a collaborative, visually rich approach to every project. He is a graduate of Atlantic Technological University, where he earned a BA (Hons) in Performing Arts (Theatre Design), training that laid the foundation for a practice focused on innovation, visual storytelling, and dynamic stagecraft.
Dylan has represented Ireland internationally, including at the Prague Quadrennial (2023), and has been recognized with residencies and awards that highlight his creative vision. These include the Yeats Abbey Theatre Residency (2023–24), the GapDay Bursary from Mermaid Arts Centre (2023), and Druid Theatre’s FUEL Residency for Deaf Republic (2024). His work often explores ritual, form, and the body, using design and performance as a means of storytelling that is both immersive and emotionally resonant.
In 2024, Dylan developed Broken Clay with Cairde Arts Festival, a collaborative performance work that examines human connection through physicality, movement, and ensemble creativity. He also leads workshops in his devising method, Theatre of Heaven, which uses poetry as a springboard for collaborative design and performance-making, supporting participants to explore text, space, and visual narrative in innovative ways.
A member of Know Promises Theatre Collective and the Irish Society of Performance Designers (ISPD), Dylan continues to expand his artistic horizons internationally. In 2025, he joined Berlin’s 1781 Theatre Collective as Creative Director for Mysterium and directed a production of Rite of Spring, further deepening his engagement with cross-cultural performance practices and experimental staging.
Dylan’s work is driven by curiosity, collaboration, and a belief in the transformative power of theatre to create shared experiences. His practice bridges the visual and the performative, inviting audiences and collaborators alike to inhabit stories that are both strikingly designed and profoundly human
Ellen Gilmartin
Ellen Gilmartin is a 25-year-old actor and movement artist based in Ireland. She graduated from Atlantic Technological University, Sligo, with a BA (Hons) in Performing Arts (Acting) and has been working across stage and screen for over six years. Her work is rooted in a belief that the body is the first and most instinctive storyteller, and she uses this approach to shape a practice that is both physical and emotionally layered.
Ellen has an extensive background in dance, having trained in hip hop for 19 years at the Avalon Centre and later undertaking five years of contemporary dance training. This dual foundation has equipped her with both the sharp rhythm and technical precision of street dance, as well as the fluidity and expressive depth of contemporary movement. Her versatility allows her to merge forms and adapt seamlessly to a wide range of performance styles, from naturalistic acting to highly physical, experimental work.
In recent years, Ellen has begun developing a movement-led performance practice inspired by Irish Celtic mythology, exploring how traditional stories and archetypes can be reimagined through surreal, abstract, and absurdist lenses. Her work investigates questions of modern identity through the lens of myth, weaving together physical theatre, movement, and text to create experiences that are immersive, dreamlike, and emotionally resonant. This ongoing research is central to her creative process and informs both her individual practice and her collaborative projects.
Her professional credits reflect a broad engagement with the Irish theatre and performance landscape. In 2024 she performed in Druid FUEL as part of Dylan McGloin’s residency, appearing alongside fellow artist Kyle Conlon. She also worked behind the scenes as a locations intern for RTÉ Jr’s Belonging – Episode 1: A Bedouin Dream, gaining valuable experience in screen production. Most recently, she served as stage manager for Broken Clay in Unveiled at the Cairde Arts Festival 2025, a piece directed by Dylan McGloin and performed by Nell Garcia and Kyle Conlon.
As a developing artist, Ellen is deeply committed to collaboration and experimentation. She thrives in ensemble settings where physical risk-taking, play, and trust drive the rehearsal room. She continues to expand her training, drawing influence from physical theatre, improvisation, and voice, with the aim of further refining her unique blend of movement and acting.
Ellen’s ambition is to continue building a body of work that challenges traditional boundaries, speaks to contemporary Irish experience, and creates space for audiences to connect through shared myth, movement, and imagination.