Caddick and Leeds Playhouse: Charting a decade of cultural collaboration

From an initial sponsorship of the Playhouse’s festive production, the partnership has quickly grown to encompass not just cultural outputs but has also had an impact on the Playhouse’s very bricks and mortar.

Caddick Group and Moda were capital partners of the Playhouse’s redevelopment, which saw the building transformed, given a striking new city-facing entrance, improved access into and around the building, and added to its theatre spaces with the creation of the new Bramall Rock Void.

As part of Leeds Playhouse’s regeneration, its original namesake was restored, reflecting the organisation’s beginnings at the University of Leeds, more than 50 years ago. Having moved to the Quarry Hill area in 1990 through local authority funding, it was gradually joined by a number of other leading cultural organisations, including Leeds Conservatoire, Northern Ballet, Phoenix Dance and BBC Yorkshire.

Caddick and Moda’s continued investment in the Playhouse, and in turn culture within the city, extends beyond the physical renovations and name changes.

It’s a commitment to the ongoing transformation of Leeds’ cultural district and the community that underpins it, creating a new and dynamic landscape with creative spaces, while also ensuring that the area’s long history and character is both preserved and enhanced.

The Playhouse’s physical transformation also enabled the creation of Playhouse Gardens, providing much-needed green space and public realm for residents, visitors and students from the new Leeds City College campus alike. Through collaborating with nearby stakeholders, there’s now a real sense of community ownership over this space, and a commitment to keeping it safe, tidy and accessible to everybody.

As new people discover the SOYO neighbourhood, it will be fantastic to offer them these spaces to create, relax and collaborate, all contributing to the continued cultural enhancement of the area.

Another crucial part of this collaboration has been through continued stakeholder engagement during the development of SOYO. Regular stakeholder meetings unite the local community with nearby cultural, retail and commercial organisations, fostering a sense of pride and ownership and prompting consideration of how we can further collaborate to enhance the area’s cultural credentials.

One of the key outputs of these meetings has been the collaboration with local artist Emma Hardaker. Supported by Caddick, Moda, Leeds Playhouse and Leeds City College, Emma has been working on this side of the city for years, with her projects including ‘New York Road Flyover’, and a number of temporary installations around the Leeds City College campus. She will soon be embarking on a series of permanent installations, inspired by the story of the Quarry Hill flats which previously stood on part of the SOYO site. Thought to be one of the oldest inhabited areas of the city, Quarry Hill has long been a part of the urban landscape, and Emma’s upcoming work will ensure that we honour its heritage and creatively re-imagine its story.

Just as Leeds City Council and its partners played a pivotal role in facilitating the Playhouse’s move to the Quarry Hill area, partnership initiatives continue to support the ongoing regeneration of this area of the city.

Recent city-wide events such as the Leeds Hospital Charities’ Bear Hunt, Leeds BID’s Jurassic Trail, and Leeds 2023’s This is a Forest and All That Lives, have not only provided entertainment and driven footfall but have enabled local people to reconnect with the area, witness its transformation first hand and explore its cultural offerings, further cementing its position as an emerging artistic hotspot.

Our work together is far from over. With the development of the SOYO scheme now well underway, the curtain is rising on a new era. With cities increasingly in competition for funding and investment, culture-led regeneration through public and private sector collaboration will be increasingly important.

No matter what this next decade holds, the collaboration between Caddick and Leeds Playhouse will continue to stand as a testament to the power of strategic partnerships in fostering vibrant, thriving communities.

James Brining is Chief Executive and Artistic Director at Leeds Playhouse and Myles Hartley is Managing Director at Caddick Developments