Kevin Leach worked at Oldham Coliseum since June 2006. For about 14 years he was a stage technician before becoming technical manager just before the pandemic. Though having to deal with redundancy himself, he campaigned to save the theatre too, and has posed questions to Oldham Council in his fight for answers and assurances for his colleagues.
Review: Encore Coliseum
It was a show unlike any other. With a cast of stars who began their careers at the Coliseum, with future stars of the stage and screen, with amateurs who have been welcomed onto that stage as they escape the real world with their love of theatre, the show encapsulated the spirit of the Coliseum. This was the last show at Oldham’s Fairbottom Street theatre.
“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.
Songwriters Joe Solo and Johnny Campbell celebrate Engels Week at Working Class Movement Library
The Working Class Movement Library celebrated Engels Week last Thursday (24 November) with an evening of empowering songs by Joe Solo and Johnny Campbell.
This is real Manchester
The Meteor asked photographer Gary Roberts to take some photos of ‘Real Manchester’ – the unique face of the city caught in glimpses by those who live it every day. Here’s what he came back with. If you attended our listening event on 16 and 17 November, you’ll have seen these pictures already. This is the story behind them.
Pride: Diversified?
Manchester Pride has changed over the years since its inception in the mid-1980s. The Pride weekend provides more than just entertainment for the LGBT community, but is Pride doing enough to keep up with the community’s diversity in 2022?
Ukraine war prompts Baltic states to remove Soviet memorials
This week’s Friends of the Meteor is from Dmitrijs Andrejevs, an academic at the University of Manchester, on the subject of former Soviet states removing monuments from the days when they were part of the USSR.
Manchester attempts to regain its Pride with a return to its roots
Manchester Pride is often criticised for being commercialised and being more of a party than a protest. But it can be both, as Gary Roberts discovered at the 2022 Pride weekend.