'Hands off Oldham Coliseum' - Maxine Peake leads rallying cry to save iconic theatre at 400-strong public meeting

“Hands off Oldham,” proclaimed actor Maxine Peake as she led a packed crowd in a chant in support of the town’s Coliseum Theatre which faces permanent closure after more than a century of performances.

On Tuesday night (February 21) 400 people attended a public meeting at the Coliseum, organised by the acting union Equity, calling on Arts Council England (ACE) and Oldham council to save the historic theatre.

After being dropped from the Arts Council funding portfolio the Fairbottom Street venue is due to close at the end of March, with 70 staff facing losing their jobs.

The theatre has also been deemed ‘beyond its expected lifespan’ and a survey carried out in January uncovered ‘numerous’ urgent health safety works. However a replacement theatre announced by Oldham council would not open until 2026.

Actors, union members and Oldham residents delivered passionate speeches about what the Coliseum means to them, the local community and to arts in the north.

READ MORE: Vision for new £24.5m theatre to replace iconic Oldham Coliseum revealed

Paul Hilton, an actor from Chadderton told the packed stalls: “I can’t bear to see this place go. I had no connection with the arts, the theatre, but I did a school play here when I was 15 and I found my calling – it was my touchpaper.

“It brought many, many actors from the north west into this business. What will happen to 13, 14, 15-year-olds in the next three years if they don’t have this space? We have to offer this opportunity for the next generation of artists.”

Paul told the audience that Dame Vanessa Redgrave is also supporting the Coliseum – ‘she’s fighting for this theatre’, he said.

He added that the Coliseum being taken away from Oldham was ‘cultural vandalism’ and said