Standing room only at Coliseum

Standing room only: all the theatre's old seats have now been scattered around the country.

Theatre’s vintage seats go to new homes...
THEATREGOERS across the country will benefit from a more relaxing experience thanks to donations from Oldham Coliseum.

The auditorium has had all its 585 chairs removed, ready for re-seating when the company returns to the Fairbottom Street site in October.

The original seats have not gone to waste.

Some will be used in the set for a play at the Royal Exchange, Manchester, while others are now nestled under Waterloo Bridge as part of The Old Vic’s Tunnels project in London.

Bike Shed Theatre in Exeter has used the seats to completely re-seat its auditorium and Chichester Festival Theatre will be using Coliseum seats to help build a summer venue made entirely of donated or found material.

A cinema in Lincoln took over 300 seats to help restore its historic building and six even went to a music shop in Manchester for a window display.

Last July, the theatre launched its 125th anniversary appeal asking loyal patrons to make a donation to help make the new seating possible.

A donation of £250 is the equivalent to the cost of one of the new seats in the auditorium, which will be more comfortable and improve the audience’s view of the stage.

Donors will get a personally inscribed plaque placed on one of the new seats.

For more information about the appeal email David Martin at davidmartin@coliseum.org.uk