Oldham’s stage will light up again once the crisis is over

No-one knows how long society will be battling Coronavirus, or how it will look once the crisis is over.

What we do know is that art is - and will - continue to be as important as ever, providing us with a form of escapism, a quiet moment of reflectionand a connection to others.

On Monday, March 16 the Coliseum’s building on Fairbottom Street was closed with immediate effect, following the Government’s advice that people should avoid public buildings.

Since then, and during the subsequent UK lockdown, the Coliseum hierarchy has been considering what that means for audiences and the current programme of work.

It is with heavy hearts that they have decided to postpone, or cancel if absolutely necessary, all forthcoming events in the building before the end of August 2020.

The Coliseum has also cancelled its co-production of the pop-up theatre Roundabout, with Paines Plough and York Theatre Royal, which was due to pop up outside Oldham’s Queen Elizabeth Hall in June and July, with a programme including four new plays, comedy, music and local community events before heading onto the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (which is now also cancelled).

These decisions have been made with the wellbeing of communities, audiences, staff, artists, and our theatre’s great legacy at the forefront.

Right now, the Coliseum is planning to open its new Autumn-Winter season in September with the annual Cultivate Festival, which has been rescheduled from June, followed by the production of Lee Hall’s Cooking With Elvis, which remains on sale and on its previously-advertised dates.

The production of The Jungle Book was in the middle of its rehearsals when the Coliseum closed and would have been on stage this Easter. 

The Coliseum has now confirmed new dates for The Jungle Book for Easter 2021, and staff are working to reschedule the rest of the Spring-Summer 2020 season wherever possible as a matter of priority.

A Coliseum spokesperson said: "Our physical stages may be dark, but we believe it’s vital that we continue to serve our audiences and communities during this difficult time.

"We’ve already begun creating and sharing art digitally with the launch of our new Mini-Podcast Series on World Theatre Day, and we have many more plans and opportunitiesin the works, collaborating with other organisations in Oldham, the North West and nationally.

"We know there are many people who have a long-standing relationship with the Coliseum but don’t use digital technology to engage with the theatre, and so we’re also considering new ways that we can continue to connect with them whilst the building is closed."

Oldham Coliseum Theatre has been serving Oldham and its communities for 135 years and has only closed once before.

In 1939 it was a group of passionate theatre lovers, the Oldham Repertory Theatre Club, that brought the theatre back to life, and it will be passionate theatre lovers of all ages and backgrounds that will keep theatre alive in Oldham during the current crisis.

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