Fresh call to save Oldham Coliseum as renowned actors lend their support

A letter calling for Oldham Coliseum to reopen and be restored as a producing house has been signed by a number of actors, artists and community leaders. Dame Vanessa Redgrave, Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Emma Thompson are just some of the high profile names who have added their signature to the note which was published in The Stage, a theatre publication, last week.

The letter refers to a report commissioned by Oldham Coliseum Trust and conducted by independent surveyors Plann, which stated that the theatre is "not beyond repair". In September, Oldham council's leader said the Coliseum theatre building couldn't have been saved and that it had reached an agreement with the theatre ‘more than ten years ago’ that the building was ‘not fit for purpose’.

The much-loved theatre closed its doors on Fairbottom Street in March after nearly 140 years producing shows in the town, despite a passionate campaign backed by residents and prominent actors to save it. It followed a decision by Arts Council England (ACE) in November to drop the Coliseum from its funding portfolio for the next three years after the body deemed it ‘high risk’, raising concerns about its’ financial management, leadership and governance.

READ MORE: The exciting new plans for Oldham's Coliseum company - just five months after venue was forced to close

READ MORE: What went wrong at Oldham Coliseum and where do campaigners go now?

A public meeting at the theatre in February organised by the performance union Equity saw 400 people turn out to support the Oldham venue – with Maxine Peake, Julie Hesmondhalgh and Christopher Biggins, amongst others, voicing support for it to be kept open. The closure on March 31 resulted in 70 redundancies of staff and the