Kevin sets out his stall

Martyn MEETS... Coliseum chief Kevin Shaw. Act One (sorry) of a two-part interview
DESPITE being akin to a circus master without a ring, Kevin Shaw remains remarkably upbeat and ebullient.

Kevin is, of course, the indefatigable chief executive and artistic director of the Oldham Coliseum — a theatre company without, well... a theatre.

The Fairbottom Street relic - perhaps an unkind description but one which each and everyone of us who loves the old place with surely recognise - is closed until September for essential works.

Not that you would know if you talk with Kevin in the hubbub of his office, surrounded by relentlessly upbeat staff who have certainly taken a lead from their boss.

Kevin’s enthusiasm is insatiable: his colleagues all walk around with permanent smiles too.

Kevin, who came to Oldham 10 years ago, was seemingly born with a beaming smile,

I would say a perma-grin, but grin implies something Kevin most definitely isn’t.

He has bottomless depths in ability and a sureness of touch that is reassuring at a time when the Coliseum is at a crossroads.

These are surely qualities that will see Oldham’s professional theatre not only survive the next few months on the road, but return to thrive in new seats and a new configuration.

For the duration of our chat, in the back offices off “Theatre Street” and during a mini-tour of the auditorium — and it’s strange to see it without seats — Kevin was just bursting with life... unlike his beloved theatre, which currently lies limp and lifeless.

Like his staff — there are 50 of what he calls “full-time equivalents” — he is consistently optimistic. Which for a man with Yorkshire stock running through his veins, is a little disconcerting.

But some people do say that the exception proves the rule.

Born in Stroud, Gloucestershire, his parents were from either side of the Pennines: his nuclear-physicist father married a Lancashire lass from Salford and the 49-year-old believes he has come home by settling in Greenacres with his wife Sarah-Jane and their three children — David, Bethany and Susannah.

David has something of the family genes. Mum is a theatre designer, currently lecturing in the discipline, and David is able to make a living as a musician, guitar being his instrument of choice.

Kevin, who cheerily admits to never having had a proper job, admits he was lucky his parents’ work took the family to Berkshire, where as a teenager he went to the local secondary school.

“There was a rule that every pupil had to appear in at least one school production,” he said.

“The teaching staff had a keen sense of team-building and believed that working in a theatre production imbued a sense of confidence and creative thinking.”

He will remain forever grateful for that background, for the school and its staff shaped his destiny.

He took to acting and all things theatrical like a duck to water; by the time he reached the sixth form, he had started directing.

The production was Coward’s “Nude with a Violin” and, before you ask, no, there wasn’t: “All the actors kept their clothes on,” he added.

But the future was shaped. Kevin became a child actor, attending drama school and appearing in “Grange Hill” and a French film about the birth of the Olympics.

He learned his trade at Redruth Drama School in Cornwall and later joined the City Lit company at Covent Garden in London.

He was a jobbing actor, proud of his method and talents and always had plenty of work in a mix of theatre and television roles before joining the Salisbury Theatre in what he calls “the dying days of the resident companies”.

His career was shaped in the depths of Hampshire, for Kevin was never destined for a life treading the boards, milking the acclaim of provincial audiences.

His talent lay elsewhere and can be traced to that directorial debut.

At 30, Kevin decided he wanted to be a director. It wasn’t exactly a “Eureka moment”, but a dawning of recognition.

“I was in the bar after one performance and along with the rest of the cast was giving forth my opinions. I remember saying that I could direct a show, no problem.

“The artistic director overheard me and said ‘OK, get on with it.’”

And without further ado about something, Kevin was transformed, his life changed forever.

“The director took a huge risk with me, no question.” he admitted.

Would you do the same? I gently enquired.

“No. Never.” was the unequivocal reply. “I wouldn’t, because it’s too big a risk.”

But isn’t the theatre in general, and the provincial theatre in particular, all about taking risks — pushing back boundaries?

After a barely noticeable hesitation he acknowledged my argument and expanded his reasoned stance on the spiky subject. We shall cover all that next time.

At 30 then, Kevin’s future was clear, at least to him. From Salisbury he moved to the Forest Forge company, a rural touring group based not too far away in Ringwood.

It was here Kevin Shaw — later to become artistic director at the Coliseum, succeeding no less a person than legendary director Kenneth Alan Taylor - learned his craft, in the crucible of constantly evolving challenges.

Kevin worked with one full-time and two part-time members of staff, touring rural Hampshire and putting on shows in the county’s villages in a Big Top tent.

He ran Forest Forge for seven years and loved every minute.

“It is where and how I learned to run a business, no question,” he says.

The company toured relentlessly and Kevin threw himself into his role as director, motivator and mentor to cast and crew.

They were glorious, challenging, uplifting days of real, live theatre in the raw, on the road, in all weathers, and for audiences of every kind.

Coming to Oldham must have seemed a a doddle after that little lot, I suggested,

But why Oldham?

Sadly there’s no story of magic formulae or mystical callings... just the usual route: an advert in The Guardian.

He applied and, obviously, got the job.

And so it came to pass that Kevin and his family are now part of the very fabric of the town.

He has thrown himself into the fight for regional theatre with a zest and gusto that should shame those of us who purports to support the theatre in Oldham but doesn’t go nearly enough.

There’s an old adage about using things or losing things and we are in danger of losing our jewel in the crown, for Oldham competes for audiences – and more importantly, funding — with Manchester giants like the Royal Exchange and other rep theatres such as Bolton’s Octagon.

So we shun the Coliseum at our peril: if we don’t go, why should funding agencies bother?

Kevin has big plans, big ideas and, after 10 years in the job, is only just starting on his project....


Next week, we look at Kevin’s hopes and ambitions for the Coliseum and perhaps more pertinently, what the next few months hold for a company without a theatre.