At a celebration event in front of the historic Fairbottom Street theatre, Oldham Council Leader Cllr Arooj Shah announced the Oldham Coliseum will re-open. Cllr Arooj Shah said: “Oldham Council has listened to local people. I can now reveal that we will bring the Coliseum back to life in time for the Christmas Panto 2025.
“We are formally committing £10 million for this major programme that will see our famous venue open its doors to the public once more. We are working together for the future of theatre in this town. It’s a big part of our plans – putting culture at the centre of transforming our town centre and creating a better Oldham for everyone.”
Cllr Shah was joined at the event last night (Monday, 8 July) by actor Julie Hesmondhalgh and writer Ian Kershaw – who spearheaded the Save Oldham Coliseum campaign alongside a group of dedicated theatre lovers from the Oldham community. In total, over 100 people, including local residents, performers, politicians and partners, packed out Fairbottom Street to hear the good news first-hand.
Julie said: “This is a cause for celebration for so many people who have come together to show their passion for the theatre and bringing the Oldham Coliseum back to life. Oldham Council has shown a fantastic commitment to re-opening the Coliseum, and by working together, we can really put arts and culture at the heart of a transformed town centre. It feels like the start of a new, exciting era and it’s one that has been driven by the people of Oldham.”
Cllr Shah said: “For many Oldhamers, their love of the arts was closely aligned with their experiences and memories of the Coliseum, and they expressed a strong desire to save the building. We have listened to them, and thanks to the support of Julie, Ian, the Save Oldham Coliseum group, and our partners, we are now making that happen.
“Alongside this, work is underway to build a more cooperative, collaborative model for the building and for arts provision more widely across Oldham.
“The past 14 years have been challenging for councils and the arts sector alike. We’re committed to a better future and creating an exciting new model where we work closely together across the borough, share our expertise, and work together to provide brilliant arts and cultural experiences for everyone. The Coliseum will be centre stage of our work to transform the town centre, creating a better Oldham for everyone.”
Jim McMahon MP, who has also played a key role in the Coliseum’s re-opening, added: “This announcement is the direct result of people coming together to stand up for the things that matter in their communities. The outcry from the people of Oldham and beyond at the Coliseum’s closure was testament to the value that culture and the arts have in forging relationships to places and between people.
“This investment, working alongside a model that brings local arts organisations and local people together with a shared stake in its future, will help secure not only this fantastic building with its amazing heritage but also the future of producing theatre in this borough.
“Theatres in this country have suffered not only from the impact of the economic crisis, as hard-hit families have been forced to reprioritise budgets and spend less on cultural activities, but also from reductions in central arts funding and from the squeeze on local government budgets who local arts organisations rely on for much of their funding.
“This innovative approach across organisations in Oldham and beyond to develop a more cooperative model of ownership and operation will help ensure that the Coliseum Theatre, and hopefully others across the country who may find a similar model useful, become stronger and more resilient and are able to continue their inspirational work for generations to come.”
The plans to bring the Coliseum back to life will be formally approved by Oldham Council’s Cabinet next Monday (15 July).
A report to be discussed on the night highlights the work which has already taken place to create a better Oldham through the borough’s extensive regeneration programme. This includes the council partnering with world-renowned regeneration and placemaking expert Muse to build a brand-new town centre neighbourhood of 2,000 new homes.
The reopening of the Coliseum puts culture at the heart of this new neighbourhood while supporting other businesses, attracting visitors, and creating new opportunities for local people. The town centre is already being boosted by a transformed Spindles—now home to more than 1,000 Oldham Council employees every day. A new co-working space and enterprise hub will open soon.
Spindles will also provide a new home for Tommyfield Market, including retail stalls and a brand-new food and drink hall. Construction of the market, which is being built in a newly extended section of the Spindles adjoining Parliament Square, is making great progress.
When complete, the new-look Spindles will also include a new venue for gigs and events above the market and a new local studies and archive centre. These new venues will be complemented by a brand-new food hall in the Old Town Hall’s Egyptian Room, which will open soon and run by one of the UK’s leading hospitality entrepreneurs, Northern Lights Group.
Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh has said the campaign to save Oldham Coliseum is “a part of a much bigger conversation” happening around access to the arts for working-class people. Oldham Council announced on Monday that the historic theatre in Greater Manchester, which closed in 2023, would reopen following a successful campaign spearheaded by Hesmondhalgh and her husband, the writer Ian Kershaw.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, the 54-year-old actress, known for her roles in Coronation Street, Broadchurch and Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, said: “I think that nobody could really anticipate the outpouring of love and absolute sadness when it looked like it was going to be closed forever.
“And I think we’ve got the media to thank a lot as well because you didn’t let up on it. I think that people were quite surprised that two weeks after the closure people were still talking about it. (It’s) because of what the Coliseum represents. There’s a lot of conversation at the moment about access to the arts, especially for working-class people, people from backgrounds like ours (her and Kershaw), people from less advantaged backgrounds.
“And that’s a huge national conversation about what art and culture means in education. And Oldham Coliseum is very much a part of that conversation, because it is a working-class theatre for working-class people and so many people have started there that wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. So it’s a part of a much bigger conversation about that as well.”
A string of celebrities offered their support for the theatre by appearing in a short film called Our Sleeping Beauty (True Love’s Kiss) earlier this year, including Suranne Jones, Christopher Eccleston and Siobhan Finneran.
The venue, which opened its doors in 1885, closed in 2023 due to a loss of funding from Arts Council England (Ace). Ace announced in 2022 that Oldham Coliseum Theatre Ltd’s application for its 2023-26 National Portfolio had been unsuccessful and in March 2023 the theatre revealed it would close and make its staff redundant.
Oldham Council held a “special celebration event” on Monday where it revealed the theatre would reopen in time for the 2025 Christmas pantomime season. A post to the council’s official X account read: “Tonight, at a special celebration event, we announced that the famous Oldham Coliseum Theatre will re-open its doors!” It added: “Around 100 people, including local residents, performers, politicians and partners, packed out Fairbottom Street in Oldham to hear the good news first-hand.” Hesmondhalgh, Kershaw and leader of the council Arooj Shah were among those who attended the event.
An Ace spokesperson said: “At Arts Council England, our priority is to work with the people of Oldham to make sure that they have access to the art and theatre that they want – which is why we’re investing £1.845 million over three years to support a creative and cultural programme in the borough, delivered by partners including Oldham Coliseum Theatre Limited and Oldham Theatre Workshop.
“While the Coliseum building belongs to Oldham Council and isn’t funded by the Arts Council, we know what a well-loved landmark it is, and recognise its link to the strong history of theatre in the town, and the work the campaign group has been doing to preserve it.”
Paul W Fleming, general secretary of Equity, the performing arts and entertainment trade union, said: “Equity is incredibly proud to be part of the coalition which has saved the Oldham Coliseum. We’re proud to have played our part with rallies, campaigning, and lobbying, but today’s victory lies with that community coalition. What is so inspiring is that they have put the workforce at the heart of this campaign – audiences want professionally produced work, at scale, in their communities to tell their stories.”
Oldham’s Coliseum theatre, which closed amid an outcry in 2023 after more than 135 years, is to reopen after a successful campaign to save it, led by actor Julie Hesmondhalgh. The historic venue, which has been boarded up since last April, will have a £10m refurbishment in order to open its doors again in time for Christmas 2025. Hesmondhalgh, known for roles in TV shows like Coronation Street and Mr Bates vs the Post Office, said she was “absolutely over the moon” at the decision.
The Coliseum was forced to close after Arts Council England withdrew its funding because of concerns over its management, while the local council said the building was “no longer fit for purpose”. Oldham Borough Council planned to replace it with a new, smaller £24m theatre, but has now scrapped that idea in favour of refurbishing the existing building. “It’s been a battle, but it’s been a battle of hearts and minds because Oldham people love this place,” Hesmondhalgh told BBC News. “They love it as a theatre but they love it also as a place that is owned by them.”
Posters were put up outside the venue on Monday proclaiming the news. Hesmondhalgh, who recently played the partner of real-life Post Office campaigner Alan Bates in the ITV drama, said she was “in a little bit of a state of disbelief” that the Coliseum campaign had worked. She paid tribute to the local council for being “willing to listen to the residents of its town and having the humility to change their minds”.
Hesmondhalgh and her husband, Coronation Street scriptwriter Ian Kershaw, were among 15 to 20 locals who have held fortnightly campaign meetings in a function room above an Italian restaurant around the corner from the theatre. A string of stars who have acted at the Coliseum in the past lent their support by appearing in a short film earlier this year – including Suranne Jones, Christopher Eccleston, Maxine Peake, Mina Anwar, Lisa Riley, Siobhan Finneran and Dame Sian Phillips.
Longtime audience member Jane Barker, 58, was also part of the Save Oldham Coliseum campaign group. “I’ve lived in Oldham all my life and I think the Coliseum is a really important place,” she said. “It brings visitors to the town. Oldham’s had a really tough time. The town centre is struggling and we need our theatre back to bring bring visitors back into the town who will use the restaurants and bars before they come in to see a show. And the Coliseum itself has such a brilliant reputation for the quality of its productions.”
Council leader Arooj Shah said locals had “an affection for this building that you can’t ignore”, and that she “wanted to listen to the people”. The £10m pledged for the refurbishment is much less than the £24m earmarked for the new venue. However, the council said the two projects were different and their costs could not be compared, and Cllr Shah said the decision was not “about money”. “It’s more about where people’s emotions are and what they feel connected to, and I think you have to acknowledge that,” she said.
The council had previously said the old building had numerous problems including asbestos, poor accessibility and cramped backstage and front-of-house facilities. However, concerns were raised that the proposed new venue would be much smaller than the old Coliseum and therefore less financially viable, and would not have the facilities to stage full-scale shows.
The Coliseum launched the careers of numerous actors over the years, including a string of Coronation Street stars; Bernard Cribbins, who joined at the age of 14 in 1943; and Doctor Who companion Millie Gibson and House of the Dragon’s Olivia Cooke, who appeared there as members of Oldham Theatre Workshop.
New Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy described the venue as “a shining example of the kind of cultural assets that local communities are so committed to protecting”. “The decision by Oldham Council to invest in the refurbishment of Oldham Coliseum will ensure future generations can continue to be entertained and inspired at this iconic venue,” she said.
An Arts Council England spokesperson said: “While the former Oldham Coliseum building belongs to Oldham Council, and isn’t funded by the Arts Council, we know what a well-loved landmark it is, and recognise its link to a strong history of theatre in the town, and the work the campaign group has been doing to preserve it. We welcome the ongoing work of partners in Oldham to develop a sustainable future for theatre and performance in the borough, and will continue to work with Oldham Council and partners to make sure there is a wide range of arts and theatre for audiences in Oldham to enjoy.”
Source: BBC News, Oldham Council
