A circus school is coming to town: Derry's Cathedral school building being transformed into new home for circus

The Cathedral School in Derry is being transformed into a circus school for In Your Space Circus (IYSC). 

IYSC has invited people to celebrate the history and heritage of the beautiful, historic building of the Cathedral School during Heritage Open Weekend as they develop plans to transform the space into their new home. 

The Derry-based IYSC, is a circus school and street theatre company which works with local, national and international artists with a wide range of skills. The group utilises circus and street theatre as a vehicle for personal, social and community development.

The Heritage Open Weekend events will celebrate the rich history of the Cathedral School building. The building holds many memories for locals as it stood as a primary school and community centre for over a century, and now these events are offering people one last chance to see inside the building before construction begins this Autumn. 

IYSC’s Heritage Project Manager, Ciara Canning, said: "Many people pass this building every day and have never had the opportunity to see inside. We want to give people the chance to visit before we begin construction work to bring the building back to life as a circus school."

The IYSC have invited anyone with a connection to the building to share their stories and particularly any old photographs or objects people may have that are connected to the old Cathedral School. They plan to incorporate these into a heritage project which will commemorate the history of the school.

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Cath McBride, IYSC’s Company Director said: "As we take our next steps towards a new exciting future for the Cathedral School, we want to celebrate and explore its history. We recognise that this building was at the heart of the community for over 100 years and would love to see any photographs and stories connected to the building."

Heritage Open Weekend will see the spark reignited in the building as IYSC will be performing there throughout the weekend. The circus school will be bringing some of their magic to their new home with interactive walk-about performers, circus workshops and building tours.

People will also have the opportunity to learn more about the redevelopment plans. The public will get a sneak preview of how the building will look when it is transformed into a circus school and community hub with an interactive VR flythrough created by Mullarkey Pedersen Architects.

The events will take place on Saturday 14 September from 10am-4pm and Sunday 15 September from 12.15pm - 3pm. Everyone is welcome and all events taking place are free.