Hugh lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is an Actor and Writer with 30 years experience in Film, Theatre, Outdoor Arts, Circus, Clown and Music, specialising in producing work for young audiences and their families.
Hugh has numerous theatre credits with CahootsNI in their 20 year history including The Ghost House ( 2022 ), The Grimm Hotel ( 2021 ) and was co writer and performer in The University of Wonder and Imagination which first toured virtually for nine months throughout Ireland, UK and USA during the Covid pandemic of 2020/21. He has toured extensively in Ireland, UK, US and China with their acclaimed shows Shh We Have a Plan and Egg which was winner of Best Show for Young People Off West End ( OFFIES).
As a solo performer Hugh has performed all over Europe, Asia and Australia, usually in the guise of his alter ego Jitterbug Jackson. Within that realm of Outdoor Arts, in 2022 and 2023 Hugh was Creative Performance Director of Belfast’s St.Patrick’s parade for Beat Carnival and then in 2024, developed performance, soundtrack and song for the NEIC Pageant at St Patrick’s Festival Dublin.
As a writer, composer, lyricist, film and podcast maker Hugh has produced a variety of successful work for Cahoots, Grasshopper, St Patrick’s Festival Dublin and most recently, successful commissions for Dublin City Council, Creative Places Darndale and Creative Places Bagenalstown. With Grasshopper and Curious Broadcast Hugh also co-created, presented and composed the soundtrack for RTE’s podcast, The Science of Sense, which has been commissioned for a third series in 2024.
Whilst living in Cambodia Hugh wrote, produced, co-directed and performed lead in the feature film INSIDE THE BELLY OF A DRAGON which received special selection at the Cambodian Film Festival and Belfast Film Festival in 2017.
Throughout those 30 years and as a result of his work with leading arts organisations like Belfast Community Circus, City Fusion, Creative Places Darndale and Bagenalstown, Hugh has developed his own model of creative exploration,Theatrical Thinking, working with people of all ages and backgrounds, using the disciplines of Circus, Music, Song and Theatre as tools for developing confidence, creativity and individual expression.
Orla Gormley
Orla trained at The Arts Educational School London of Musical Theatre. Theatre includes: Hansel and Gretel (The Lyric Theatre) The Last Ship (PW Productions – American Tour) , Musical of The Year (Eloy Productions), The Last Ship (UK Tour/Princess of Wales, Toronto), Beauty and The Beast, (The Lyric Theatre ) Molly Wobbly’s TiT Factory (The Lyric Theatre), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (ATG/Jerry Mitchell Productions), Comrade Rockstar (Julian Woolford), One Night Stand (PBM), HATCH! (The Mac Theatre), Den Of Iniquity (BASA Productions), GETGOT (The Main Space/Edinburgh Fringe), Comedy Of Errors (Theatre at the Mill), Molly Wobbly’s TiT Factory (Assembly Rooms/Edinburgh Fringe), Sleeping Beauty (Market Theatre), Lead Production Singer (P&O Azura), Romeo & Juliet (NZ Opera Company), Night of a Thousand Voices (SSE Arena Belfast), Jack & The Beanstalk and Peter Pan (Millennium Forum).
Workshops include – Houdini developmental workshop ( Sting / Karl Sydow) , Devils Advocate ( Julian Woolford )
Original Cast Albums include ‘Lizzie’ (Musical of the Year), ‘Renata’ (Comrade Rockstar) and ‘Ruth’ (Molly Wobbly’s Tit Factory)
Declan King
Declan is a theatre-maker from Dublin, based in Belfast. He has worked with leading theatre companies across Ireland and the UK as an actor, devisor, director, facilitator, and stage manager. Declan’s own work focuses on improvisation and physical theatre using the principles of Open Space. Declan has devised and directed several pieces including Rumble In The Ensemble (Smock Alley Theatre) and The Rehearsal Room (Accidental Theatre).
Philippa O’Hara
Philippa O’Hara is a professional actor and singer from Belfast. She has been lucky enough to tour Ireland, China, Norway and America five times with various Cahoots N.I. shows. She is a guest vocalist with Lush! Classical and Cream Classical performing in huge venues with symphony orchestras in front of up to 18,000 people, videos of which have garnered over 9 million views on YouTube. She performs regularly with her sister as the O’Hara Sisters at prestigious events all over the U.K. and Ireland including The Players’ Dinner at The Open 2019 and at extremely exclusive, bespoke events at The Tate Modern, London. Her recent theatre credits include The Vanishing Elephant at New Victory Theatre New York, Secrets Of Space USA tour, and Cinderella at the MAC.
Christina Nelson
Christina is a dynamic and versatile actor and director, renowned for her compelling performances and innovative direction. Her recent stage credits at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast include memorable roles in “Hansel and Gretel”, “Snow Queen”, “Pinocchio”, “Lady Killers”, and “Sinners”. Each performance has showcased her exceptional talent and ability to bring complex characters to life.
Recently, Christina took her talents to New York, performing with the Irish Arts Centre in “Good Vibrations,” following a successful run at the Grand Opera House in Belfast. Other acting credits further highlight her range and skill, including roles in “Cassandra of Ulster” in Dublin, “McCooeys” at the Grand Opera House, “Betty and Bernie’s School Reunion” at the SSE Arena, and “Ring of Steel” with Kabosh.
Christina’s directorial prowess was most recently evidenced in her sold-out production of “Bernie’s Big Day Out” at the SSE Arena. Christina is currently collaborating with GBL and Greenshoot Productions on an exciting community engagement project, culminating in a large-scale professional production written by Gary Mitchell and community directed by Christina in the MAC Belfast.Over the past few years, Christina has both directed and performed in a series of comedy plays that have toured throughout Northern Ireland. Her latest triumph is the one-woman show “I’ll Tell My Ma,” a prequel to the Aisling Award-winning “Is That Too Hot” at the Mac Theatre. Both productions, written by Patricia Gormley and starring Christina, received critical acclaim. Christina’s talents extend to the screen, where her TV and film credits include Hope Street (BBC) Back in 5 (Armchair and Rocket), History Makers (directed by Stephen Pierce, BBC), Make the Difference (directed by Michael O’Neil), and My Mother and Other Strangers (directed by Adrian Shergold, BBC).
Creativesand Crew
Creator/Director – Paul Bosco Mc Eneaney
Paul Bosco Mc Eneaney is from County Armagh, Northern Ireland, and is the Founder and Artistic Director of Cahoots NI.
In his role as Artistic Director, Paul has produced and directed many productions, most recently The University of Wonder & Imagination LIVE (USA Tour 2024), The Vanishing Elephant (New Victory Theater, New York, 2023), When We Were Wild (MAC, Belfast 2023), Danny Carmo’s Mathematical Mysteries (USA Tour 2023) Cinderella : The Midnight Princess (MAC, Belfast 2022), The Ghost House (Immersive Walk-Through Experience, Belfast 2021), Secrets of Space (USA Tour 2022), The Grimm Hotel (Immersive Walk-Through Experience, Belfast 2021).
Prior to this, previous productions include Nivelli’s War, Milo’s Hat Trick, The Assistant’s Revenge, Pinocchio, The Incredible Book Eating Boy, The Elves and the Shoemaker, The Snail and The Whale and The Gift.
His recent theatre writing credits include; Penguins, Shh! We Have a Plan, Egg, and Lights! Camera! Maths! Paul has worked extensively as an illusion consultant on many different productions, ranging from Shakespeare in the open air to Broadway musicals. As an actor, Paul was nominated for the prestigious Ian Charleson award and received a Commendation from the National Theatre for his performance in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast. In November 2011,The Belfast Metropolitan College honoured Paul with an Award of Distinction for his contribution to the Arts.
Creator/Writer – Charles Way
Charles is one of Britain’s leading writers for children and young people. In 2016 he was honoured by Action for Children’s Arts for his contribution to children’s theatre. Charles began writing plays professionally in 1978 when he joined Leeds Playhouse TIE team. He has now written over fifty plays, and his work is produced all over the world. ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and ‘The Search for Odysseus’ were both nominated as Best Children’s Play by the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain and ‘A Spell of Cold Weather’ won the award in 1996.
His play about the percussionist Evelyn Glennie, which was first produced at the Polka Theatre was nominated as Best Children’s Show by the TMA, as was ‘Nivelli’s War’ for Cahoots NI which transferred to Broadway in 2017. His version of ‘The Borrowers’ won the award in a production for Northern Stage directed by Erica Whyman in 2014.
He has enjoyed a close relationship with the Unicorn Theatre in London for whom he wrote ‘The Flood’ published by Collins and in 2004 ’Red Red Shoes’ which won the English Arts Council’s ‘Children’s Award’. He was commissioned by the National Theatre for the ‘Assembly’ project to write ‘Alice in the News’, which has subsequently been performed by children all over Britain. In 2010 the author was the recipient of the prestigious German children’s theatre prize for ‘Missing’ about child poverty and in 2004 ‘Merlin and the Cave of Dreams’, was nominated for a Helen Hayes award for the ‘Outstanding New Play’ in Washington DC.
Recent works with Cahoots include ‘The Vanishing Elephant’, ’When We Were Wild’, ‘Cinderella : The Midnight Princess’, ‘The Ghost House’, ‘The Grimm Hotel’, ’Under the Hawthorn Tree’, ‘The Assistant’s Revenge’ and ‘Secrets of Space’.
Composer – Aoife Kavanagh
Aoife Kavanagh is an Irish composer and sound designer active across a variety of music disciplines, including dance, theatre, circus, film, and contemporary music. Aoife is particularly interested in composing for interdisciplinary work and collaboration with other artists.
Recent compositions and designs for theatre include The Vanishing Elephant at the New Victory Theatre; Reunion(Landmark Productions)and The Saviour (Landmark Productions – Irish Rep New York); Ghosts (Landmark Productions/Abbey Theatre); The Long Christmas Dinner (Abbey Theatre);Tom Moran is a Big Fat Disgusting Filthy Liar (Edinburgh, Sydney & Melbourne Fringe festivals); and My Sister in this House (The Lir Academy). Aoife has also assisted leading Irish sound designers including Mel Mercier on Children of the Sun (Abbey Theatre/Rough Magic) and Denis Clohessy on King (Fishamble).
Aoife’s dance credits include Ballet Ireland’s The Glasshouse. Other regular collaborators includeRoisin Whelan Dance (Iomhá, The Galaxy of Occupations and Man Down), and Aisling Ní Cheallaigh and Jenny Tufts (Nasc, Ar Scath A Chéile, Dúlamán). She was one of two awardees of the Contemporary Music Centre’s Emerging Composer Scheme 2022-24, and has written for choirs and instrumentalists throughout Ireland. Aoife has also composed for several short films and assisted composer/producer Anna Rice on projects such as Andrea Corr’s ‘The Christmas Album’.
Lighting Design – Simon Bond
Simon Bond is an experienced Lighting Designer and former Senior Lighting Technician at Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
Lighting designs for Birmingham Repertory Theatre include: Constructed, A Thousand Splendid Suns (UK tour), Brummie Illiad, Jekyll & Hyde, Orange Polar Bear (Seoul and Birmingham), Rebus – Long Shadows (UK tour), Whiphand (Birmingham & Edinburgh Festival), 101 Dalmatians, To Sir, With Love, Looking For John, The Quiet House, Rotters’ Club, Of Mice And Men (UK tour), Never Try This At Home, Circles, Come Heavy Sleep, Hopelessly Devoted, The Legend Of Mike Smith, Europa (Birmingham, Bydgoszcz, Dresden, Zagreb), Hip Hop Hero, Wounded, Gravity, Travesties, The Importance Of Being Earnest, Notes To Future Self, Cling To Me Like Ivy, Looking For Yoghurt (UK, Japan, Korea).
For Stan’s Café: The Just Price Of Flowers, Finger Trigger Bullet Gun, Made Up, The Capital.
For Pentabus Theatre: Strawberry Fields, White Open Spaces.
For Royal Birmingham Conservatoire: Macbeth, Lady Windermere’s Fan, Naked, The Tempest, The Terror, Phaedra, Women Of Troy, Rhinoceros, Mary Queen Of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off, The Crucible, Punk Rock, Cloud 9, Hayfever, Dracula, Hedda Gabler.
For Custom Practice: As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
For Cahoots : The Vanishing Elephant, Penguins, The Grimm Hotel, The Ghost House, Cinderella : The Midnight Princess, Secrets of Space and The University of Wonder & Imagination.
Costume Designer – Diana Ennis
Illusion Design and Construction – Guy Barrett
Props/Set Maker – David Morgan
Composer’s Assistant – Mathias Levy Valensi
On-Stage Crew – Ben Davey
Mic Operator – Olivia Brady
Sound/Lighting Operator – Aneta Murawska
Production Manager – Ross McDade
Front of House Team – Fiona Donaghy, Erin Humphrey, Kai Smyth
A huge thanks to our funders for their support of Cahoots and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
