His first introduction to performance was through an intensive theatrical-clown course as part of the circus training course in Belfast Circus School in Northern Ireland during 1999/2000.

He was immediately addicted to performance and as a result, went on to study theatre full-time in Kinsale FEC, Co. Cork with Belinda Wild. In his time he has performed in a wide variety of settings from physical theatre ensembles and improvised plays to Shakespeare.

Snatch Comedy Improv

He performed on a weekly basis with Snatch Comedy Improv for 5 years at festivals and events all over Ireland. In that time Snatch focused on Short Form improvisation and, while they took much inspiration from the writing of Keith Johnstone, they were also inspired by the work of many other national and international groups. However their work always remained original and exciting (as it still does today).

In the summer of 2008 the company took on the task of creating a long-form improv show. After researching the work of other groups in Australia and America (as there were no other groups in Ireland performing long-form) Snatch developed a unique style of Long Form improv and performed to acclaimed response at The Cork Midsummer Festival in June of that year.

He officially left the group when he moved to Italy in May 2009 but still makes the occasional guest appearance!

He first entered the world of performance when training at Belfast Circus School (Northern Ireland) in 1999/2000. During that time he trained in juggling, trapeze, clown, acrobatics and circus teaching techniques. The tutors on the course were all highly qualified and respected in their fields and hailed from the UK, Australia, America e Canada.

Since then he has specialised in slackrope and now combines his experience in theatre with his circus abilities to create original performances with which he has performed at innumerable festivals around Europe and beyond.

These are some of the more notable festivals he has worked at:

• Dubai Food Festival, UAE
• Mirabilia Festival, Italy
• Passagefestival, Denmark
• Festival of Fools, Northern Ireland
• Imaginarius, Portugal
• Brighton Arts Festival, England
• Halmstad Street Festival, Sweden

For more information on Cathal's shows as a professional performer,
please visit: www.ilcataldo.com

Throughout his performance career, Cathal has also followed his second great passion- that of teacher, and has taught circus and theatre to young people and adults in Ireland, Germany, Italy, Nicaragua and India.

He has worked on a wide variety of projects from socially disadvantaged communities in Belfast to experimental school projects in Germany where theatre was used as a didactic technique in the teaching of English.

He worked at the Helene Lange Schule, a project school in Wiesbaden, which is part of a Ministry for Education initiative where new and innovative teaching techniques are tested for use in the general teaching system.