On Thursday 9 March, Equity met with the Arts Council for talks to save the Oldham Coliseum and the acting jobs it provides. Following this, the actors’ union held a press conference outside the Arts Council offices on Lever Street.
“They’re depriving a whole generation of accessible arts, of ambition, of hope and storytelling”
Oldham Coliseum played host to a star-studded line-up on 21 February, but it wasn’t the usual entertainment on offer. Actors from the North West joined members of the public to save the venue from closure. Coronation Street’s Jane Hazlegrove attended, and we caught up with her after the meeting to talk about her connection to the Coliseum.
Save Oldham Coliseum: actors and community unite to keep theatre in Oldham
Yesterday, 21 February 2023, the actors’ union Equity held a public meeting to discuss the Oldham Coliseum Theatre’s uncertain future. Representatives from the industry addressed a packed auditorium, while those with the political and financial capital to save the building were notably absent.
“The show must go on”: Oldham Coliseum’s alumni come together in bid to save theatre
The theatre and arts world was rocked on Tuesday by the decision to cancel all shows at Oldham Coliseum Theatre after their funding bid to the Arts Council was rejected. Some of the industry’s leading lights have spoken out about the decision and reflected upon what the historic venue has done for them over the years.
Legislative theatre: enhancing and diversifying democracy, with a smile
Legislative theatre is flipping the power dynamics between the homeless and policy makers in GM, creating new workable policies drafted by people with experience of homelessness and tailored to their needs.
Manchester’s laid-off theatre & event workers are retraining to tackle the climate crisis
An ambitious new project is addressing pandemic induced job loss while boosting the retrofit sector in Greater Manchester. Nick Prescott visits a home undergoing retrofitting works to learn more.
SwitchMCR brings a dystopian vision of 2020 to Manchester in new play ‘We Won’t Fall’
Local theatre company SwitchMCR are bringing their new production, ‘We Won’t Fall’ to the International Athony Burgess Foundation this month. Imagine a world very different from the one we live in today. A world where music and free speech are censored, and a battle is waged to keep the community spirit alive in the face […]
Podcast Review of One at HOME Manchester
“Nasi is on a ladder. Heʼs not coming down any time soon”. As we file into the theatre Nasi is there in front of us, standing high up on the very tall ladder. His demeanor is casual and relaxed but unconvincing. This tense sight amplified by the sense that we had intruded midway through a […]
Consent To Entertainment: The Newspaper Boy
It probably says a lot about the kind of theatre I’m accustomed to that I was initially disappointed by the lack of soliloquies and arty shouting. After some adjustment, it turns out that well-drawn characters struggling relatably against society’s pettiness and cruelty, speaking from the heart with witty, unpretentious dialogue, against a backdrop of impeccable […]
Precious peace in the midst of chaos: Carol Ann Duffy’s ‘The Christmas Truce’
Nestled in the cosy confines of one of Manchester’s ancient armpits is 53two, a theatre in a railway arch offering an hour of festive transcendence to knackered shoppers and knackered everyone. These are grim times, and there’s a feeling in the air that this might be the last Christmas in which the West can stay […]