Oldham Coliseum SAVED and will reopen in time for panto season

Oldham's Coliseum theatre has been saved and is officially due to reopen in time for the 2025 pantomime season.

The historic theatre was forced to close in March last year after Arts Council England withdrew a £1.8m grant from the theatre following a nationwide review. The decision left a group of loyal fans 'devastated’ and sparked a huge campaign to keep it venue alive.

Announcing the news this evening (July 8), former Coronation Street actor Julie Hesmondhalgh said she was "over the moon" at the decision. She describe the nearly 140-year-old building as the "beating heart" of Oldham.

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The Coliseum helped launch the careers of several renowned British actors and writers, including Christopher Eccleston, Maxine Peake and Suranne Jones.

But an energetic campaign spearheaded by Julie Hesmondhalgh and BAFTA-winning screenwriter Ian Kershaw alongside the support of Oldham Council has now secured a £10m pledge for its relaunch.

Council leader Arooj Shah, who was also present at the announcement, told the LDRS: “This feels like the right thing to do. I remember knocking on doors and speaking to people and hearing all these nice stories about how they had their first dates here, how they came here with their families - and it just felt really brutal that we’d lost that.

“The most important thing about arts and culture is it brings communities together like nothing else.”

The council had initially intended to build a new home for the Coliseum with better wheelchair access and space for a theatre cafe. But an initial design was abandoned when its projected price doubled and new plans showed a smaller ‘arts and culture’ venue without a producing theatre which