Cash fairytale for Coliseum

Celebration . . . executive director David Martin and chief executive Kevin Shaw welcome the news that their Arts Council grant will increase

ELATED staff at the Oldham Coliseum jumped for joy as they were handed a £600,000 cash windfall yesterday after escaping the spending cuts axe.

The town centre theatre bucked the trend and was awarded the cash as funding decisions from Arts Council England were unveiled.

But hundreds of theatres, galleries and arts groups leaders across the country were left devastated after their funding was scrapped, a direct result of £100 million cut in the Arts Council’s annual grant.

Not only did the Coliseum secure its funding, it also received a staggering 19 per cent increase of more than £95,000 in funding for 2012/13 compared with 2011/12.

Artistic director and chief executive Kevin Shaw said: “To get almost a 20 per cent increase is remarkable.

“I think it’s down to the quality of our productions, the fact that we’re rooted in our community and that we offer a vast range of outreach activities.

“We are completely keyed into the area and are making theatre work in an area of multiple deprivation.

“People are proud to have the Coliseum whether they come or not and we have a terrifically loyal audience.”

Feedback from the Arts Council revealed that they had been deemed worthy for their strong management and their ability to reach out to local people.

However, Kevin described the national picture of cust as “short sighted”.

He said: “There are going to be colleagues across the country who won’t have this good news and will be forced to close, so that tempers our delight.

“If leaders are interested in growing the economy they shouldn’t be withdrawing money from creative industries, who are one of the success stories.”

A total of 1,333 applications were made for Arts Council funding, but only 695 were successful, a reduction from the current 849 organisations supported.

Northern casualties include the Lowry and the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, whose funds will both be reduced by 11 per cent.

Oldham-based Peshkar Productions, the community championing theatre company, have also been spared the chop and have also secured funding for the next four years.

Their funding will increase from £75,357 this year to £79,095 in 2015, but this relates to an 11 per cent drop when taking in inflation estimates.

Its artistic director and chief cxecutive Jim Johnson said: “It would have presented major obstacles if we would have lost this funding, but this is a resounding endorsement for the work we do.

“We’re committed to working with the hardest-to-reach communities in Oldham.

“There are severe cuts being made and we need to be robust, there are still challenges ahead.”