Hundreds turn out in support of Oldham Coliseum
They're urging arts Council England to reverse the decision to cut 100% of its funding to the theatre
Hundreds of people have turned out in a bid to save Oldham Coliseum.
400 people showed up to the 'Save Oldham Coliseum' public meeting yesterday evening (Tuesday 21 February), urging Arts Council England (ACE) to reverse the decision to cut 100% of its funding to the theatre. The meeting was organised by Equity, the performing arts and entertainment trade union.
On-stage speakers included actress Maxine Peake, Oldham Coliseum Chief Executive Chris Lawson, and Equity President Lynda Rooke, alongside community members from Oldham who spoke from the audience and posed questions to ACE regarding the planned closure of the Coliseum.
These questions will be sent to ACE who did not attend the meeting, despite having been invited along. An empty chair with a sign saying ‘Arts Council England’ remained on stage in reference to the absence of a representative.
All attendees of the public meeting were given the opportunity to sign a petition calling on ACE to reverse their decision to cut funding to Oldham Coliseum.
Actress and Equity member Maxine Peake said: “It is about community, it’s what this theatre means to Oldham… There’s a saying that ‘If you can’t see it, you can’t be it’. And it’s not just that they Oldham Coliseum are great at training actors, but it’s about what spaces like this give to the audiences that come here.”
Chris Lawson, Oldham Coliseum Chief Executive, said: “We’re now finding ourselves in a consultation period of 30 days for 70 jobs. That’s 70 jobs in Oldham, that’s 70 jobs in the arts, that’s 70 times I’m sitting one-to-one with staff members that I work with every day to explain to them what’s happening. And that’s a conversation that then, in turn, is being had with me.”
“There was a timely announcement, I think this afternoon, around the new building,” said Chris Lawson, in reference to Oldham Council’s announcement yesterday that they would recommit to the opening of a new theatre in the borough, scheduled for 2026. Chris continued: “Now pictures of that building have the Coliseum logo on it. The Coliseum, as things stand, will not exist to be able to run that building – it is the next three years that we’re trying to protect.”
Equity North West Regional Official, Paul Liversey, issued the following statement in response to Oldham Council’s plans for the new theatre:
“While Oldham Council’s recommitment to building a new theatre is positive news, it still does not address the immediate problems that come with the Coliseum’s closure on 1st April. These include the redundancies faced by Equity members who work there, alongside the fact that until the opening of the new venue – scheduled for 2026, so at least three years from now – there will be no theatre in the borough.
“This will create a vacuum of arts access in Oldham, with the community left without a producing theatre to nurture the creation of new writing and performing arts, alongside proper union jobs. We call on Arts Council England and Oldham Council to release details about the arts provision planned for Oldham in the years before the opening of the new theatre and, if these do not include the existence of a producing theatre, to save Oldham Coliseum.”
Arts Council England said they didn’t have a representative available to attend the meeting and that they wrote to Equity last week to offer a separate meeting.
ACE also say they would not give out detailed reasons in a public forum about why any organisation has not been funded.
Their latest statement about Oldham Coliseum said:
“Oldham Coliseum is a well-loved fixture in the town and understandably many people have strong feelings about the future of the theatre. Oldham Coliseum Ltd has been facing financial and governance challenges for some time and as guardians of public money we could not invest in an organisation which we assessed to be such a high risk. Their funding continues until the end of March after which we’ve agreed additional support of nearly £360,000 to help them with decisions about the future.
"Arts Council England is absolutely committed to supporting arts and culture for the people of Oldham, and we’re standing by our commitment to invest £1.85 million in performing arts in the town and overall our investment in the arts in Oldham will be higher than ever before. The Oldham Coliseum building, which is reaching its natural end, is owned by Oldham Council and has never been part of our funding to the company.
"We are fully behind the plans the Council shared today for a new performing space that will be informed by the legacy of the Oldham Coliseum and which will ensure there’s brilliant theatre in Oldham for people to enjoy for years to come. "