Cahoots At Cityside
Cahoots has been based in Cityside Retail and Leisure park since 2020.
With a lot of hard work – and a touch of signature Cahoots’ magic – we’ve spent the past five years transforming a once disused warehouse into a dedicated children’s theatre space where we create and present our work.
From a hotel filled with secrets behind every door, to enchanted forests, the bright lights of Broadway, and even the sunny plains of California, we have transported over 11,750 audience members from their local shopping centre into magical worlds brimming with wonder and imagination.
March 2020
Where It All Began
Like many Arts organisations, the COVID-19 pandemic hit us hard. Moving out of our previous base in Royal Avenue, we needed to find a new home where we could continue creating work for digital delivery.
With the support of Savills Ireland, we identified a hidden gem – the former Woolworth’s distribution headquarters in Cityside Retail Park. The space was ideal for transformation into individual studios, allowing artists to work safely and socially distanced. This setup enabled us to keep making and sharing work throughout lockdown.
October / November 2020
The University of Wonder & Imagination, Zoom production
A fully digital, interactive experience, The University of Wonder & Imagination saw each cast member isolated in their own performance space, broadcasting live via Zoom while maintaining safe social distancing from one another.
The show was watched live by families across the UK and Ireland – and as far afield as Egypt, India, Romania, New Zealand and the USA – bringing imagination and connection to households around the world during a time of isolation.
October 2021
The Grimm Hotel, Interactive walk-through experience
Still operating under Covid-19 restrictions, we responded with creativity and innovation developing The Grimm Hotel – an immersive, walk-through performance designed with safety at it’s core.
We constructed a bespoke, purpose – built set, featuring winding corridors, a lobby, a library and multiple performance spaces. The experience was carefully designed to allow small audience bubbles to move safely from one space to the next, with staggered entry allowing for a new group to begin their journey once the previous one had finished.
The Grimm Hotel was presented as part of Belfast International Arts Festival and proved hugely popular – tickets sold out even before opening night!
“Thank you to Cahoots NI for reminding us all that live theatre can be magical and transformative. If you just know which door to go through…(Bangor Grammar School)”
December 2021
Christmas at The Grimm Hotel
Back by popular demand, The Grimm Hotel returned in December with a festive makeover as part of Belfast City Council’s Once Upon a Time in Belfast city-wide seasonal programme.
Audiences were once again invited to step through mysterious doors and explore the immersive world of the Hotel—this time reimagined with a magical Christmas twist. The experience proved just as enchanting the second time around, drawing families from across the city into a world of festive wonder, all within Cityside Retail Park.
“I can’t believe we are in Cityside and this is right under our nose – we will definitely be back.” (Audience Feedback)
October 2022
The Ghost House
Following the sold-out success of The Grimm Hotel in 2021, Cahoots returned to our ground floor performance space in Cityside Retail & Leisure Park with a brand-new immersive walk-through theatre experience: The Ghost House.
Cityside was once again transformed with astonishing technical detail—this time into a spine-tingling haunted house featuring themed environments and atmospheric ‘black box’ performance spaces. Audiences journeyed room to room, encountering moments of theatre, dance, and magic as a gripping ghost story unfolded around them.
‘I was blown away by this experience! More than a show…it was a magical experience!’ (Audience Feedback)
‘Top notch performances. Bone-chillingly haunting and atmospheric. Something very different in a shopping centre!’ (Audience Feedback)
June 2023
When We Were Wild- previews
As our theatre space at Cityside continued to evolve, we reached a major milestone during rehearsals for When we were wild – staging the production with a full set and lighting rig for the first time.
A key development was the rescue and repurposing of an 80-seater retractable seating bank, originally planned to be recycled. This addition enabled us to host seated audiences in our space for the very first time.
We invited pupils from St Patrick’s Primary School and several local families to attend special preview performances. Their feedback—especially from the students—was invaluable, directly informing key creative changes ahead of the show’s full run at The MAC.
August/ September 2023
The Vanishing Elephant – previews
Continuing to strengthen our ties with the North Belfast community, we invited local community groups and Cityside employees to attend open dress rehearsals of The Vanishing Elephant.
These exclusive preview performances, offered audiences of all ages a first look at the production and provided us with invaluable feedback that contributed to the show’s development ahead of its Off-Broadway run at the New Victory Theatre, New York.
June 2024
The Musician’s of Bremen LIVE! – previews
Building on the successful model established with our previous in-house previews, we hosted four private preview performances of ‘The Musicians of Bremen LIVE!’ at Cityside in June 2024, prior to it’s international engagement at The Segerstrom Centre for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California.
We partnered with local primary schools and youth groups to ensure young people in our community had early access to the show. These performances were not only a valuable part of the production’s development but also a meaningful way to further embed Cahoots within our North Belfast hub.
‘Thank you so much for today everyone was absolutely raving about the show it was truly a special watch!’ (Community Youth Leader Feedback)
June 2024
The Vanishing Elephant Book Launch
To celebrate the publication of of The Vanishing Elephant, we hosted an exciting book launch in our Cityside space. Guests enjoyed an intimate in-conversation and reading with award-winning writer Charles Way and Cahoots’ artistic director Paul Bosco McEneaney, exploring the themes of the story and the journey from page to stage.
The event concluded with a surprise: an exclusive preview performance of a brand-new scene from The Musicians of Bremen Live!, offering a glimpse what was to come in the next chapter of Cahoots’ storytelling.
October 2024
The Vanishing Elephant Community Workshops
As part of our commitment to removing barriers for local young people to participate in the Arts, Cahoots delivered a four-week community workshop programme in partnership with Belfast International Arts Festival.
Hosted in our dedicated theatre space in Cityside Retail Park, the workshops welcomed participants from a wide range of Belfast-based community groups.
Each session was led by cast and creative from The Vanishing Elephant, offering hands – on engagement in various disciplines:
Circus skills with Hugh W. Brown
Storytelling with Charles Way
Puppetry masterclass with Helen Foan
Theatre and movement with Jayachandran Palazhy and Paul Bosco Mc Eneaney
Participants also attended a preview of the production, staying afterward to share feedback and chat with the Cahoots team – deepening the connection between creative professionals and young audiences.
“It was fantastic! So interactive and loved every minute, I was able to learn about the techniques involved with puppeteering big puppets.” (Young Participant Feedback)
December 2024
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
A major milestone for Cahoots: with the installation of our own in-house box office, we welcomed almost 1,900 audience members to our first fully public production in what is now our dedicated venue at Cityside.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was a spellbinding Christmas tale of magic and self-discovery for children and families. In the lead-up to the show, cast members brought the magic to life with pop-up performances throughout the shopping centre—creating buzz and delight among local shoppers.
“To say we were blown away would be an understatement. We had the best time from beginning to end, completely enthralled by every minute of it. The magical elements has us wondering in awe and the talented actors sang so beautifully we got shivers. There were plenty of laughs , lots of giggles and even a few emotional moments. IT HAD IT ALL! This was the best Christmas Eve show we have ever been to, and we’ll treasure the memories made today. Thank you so much for everything!”
Access to our venue
Our commitment to your access
Our approach to access is to communicate with everyone in an individually focused and receptive
way. We understand that knowing your needs will be met is very important.
We know that everyones needs are different but here are some examples of how we currently
support individuals in our audiences:
– Quiet space – the freedom to leave a performance at anytime.
– Relaxed Performances – We offer at least 1 relaxed performance per run however, if there is
demand for this we can add more dates.
– Wheel- chair friendly
– Free carers ticket to audience members who need continual or essential assistance to attend
for health and access reasons. The carer must be over 18 years of age.
Getting here
Bus
These bus lines stop near Cityside Retail & Leisure Park: 13, 14, 1D, 2B, 2C, 2D, 61.
The nearest bus stop to Cityside Retail & Leisure Park in Belfast is North Queen Street (Yorkgate).
It’s a 3 min walk away.
The nearest stations to Cityside Retail & Leisure Park are:
◦ North Queen Street (Yorkgate) is 173 meters away, 3 min walk.
◦ Upper Canning Street is 425 meters away, 6 min walk.
◦ York Street (St Paul’S) is 484 meters away, 7 min walk.
◦ Nelson Street Bus Lane is 553 meters away, 8 min walk.
◦ Northside Park & Ride is 559 meters away, 8 min walk.
Car
It is located on the Northern edge of Belfast City Centre on York Street, adjacent to the M2 and
M3 motorways. The M1 motorway is a short distance away connected via the Westlink. Coming
from the M1 and Westlink, the scheme is accessed via York Street. Coming from the M2 and M3,
the scheme is accessed via Dock Street and then Brougham Street.There are c. 915 surface car parking spaces at Cityside.
Mon – Fri: up to 5 hours free parking.
Sat & Sun: all day free parking.
Train
Cityside Retail and Leisure Park is a 5 minute walk from York Street Station with many trains
coming through this station – check out Belfast Translink for routes and more info.
Entrance
We are located in Cityside Retail and Leisure Park. The main mall has an accessible entrance with
2 automatic doors. This entrance also serves as a drop-off point for customers with access
needs. There are multiple accessible parking spaces in the Cityside car park however, these are
first come, first served due to it being public parking.
Once inside the mall we are located by the main entrance of Home Bargains. The walkway to this
entrance is all on flat ground. When we open the house, we will open our audience door which
has a width of 88cm. Through this door you will be led down a long flat corridor with 2 turns. You
will then be taken through another door which has a width of 75cm into our ‘shop’ space. From
here the route into the theatre is wide and flat with a pinned back curtain to go through.
Other Facilities
– We have 7 wheelchair spaces within our theatre space.
– Whilst we do not have bathroom facilities in our space there are accessible bathrooms on the
first floor of Cityside’s main mall with 2 accessible lifts to get to this floor.
– There is a changing places facility located in the Movie House Cinema on the first floor of
Cityside, we have access to this, however, require to know if access may be required at the
time of booking for our production.
Relaxed Shows
Relaxed Shows are specifically designed to welcome people with a learning disability, Down’s Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Condition or sensory and communication disorders.
There is a relaxed attitude to noise and movement and some small changes made to the light and sound effects.
If you’d like to chat with someone a little more about relaxed shows, simply contact our Box Office: info@cahootsni.com
