Oldham Coliseum, a beloved local theatre that’s been on the brink of closure since it lost vital funding, has announced that it’s officially reached the end of the line.
The final curtain will fall on the century-old theatre at the end of this month, with all staff facing a redundancy process.
News of its difficulties became public earlier this year when the venue announced it was cancelling all shows from the end of March onwards.
The historic theatre had been dropped from Arts Council England’s National Portfolio – which made up a third of its income – from 1 April, leaving many locals in Greater Manchester and famous stars of the stage furious.
Oldham Coliseum has survived two world wars, the Covid pandemic, and all the challenges that have followed since, but has now reached a point where it’s ‘not sustainable’ to remain open.
ADVERTISEMENT
Its heartbreaking final statement spoke of the ‘joyful memories that hundreds of thousands of people’ have made within its walls, as well as the countless careers it has helped to launch.
Bill Roach in Arsenic and Old Lace, 1974Second to the left Jean Alexander in Arsenic and Old LaceKathy Staff in Hankey Pank 1973Dame Thora Hird in Saturday Night at the Crown 1956Historic performances from the Oldham Coliseum as it announces its closure. Credit: Supplied
They wrote: “The outpouring of love for the theatre over the past weeks has been overwhelming, demonstrating the Coliseum’s impact on the communities of Oldham and further afield.
ADVERTISEMENT
“To our audiences, industry colleagues, partners, sponsors, funders, patrons and friends – we cannot thank you enough for your support over more than a century of theatre.”
Oldham Coliseum’s final day will be on 31 March 2023. Events to mark its final hurrah are being considered and will be announced in the future.
Oldham Coliseum’s farewell statement in full
It is with deep sadness that we confirm the forthcoming closure of Oldham Coliseum Theatre and the beginning of a redundancy process that will affect all staff. Doors to the historic venue will close to the public for the final time on 31 March 2023.
ADVERTISEMENT
Following the news on 4 November 2022 that the Coliseum will no longer be part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio from 1 April 2023, the Board of Trustees and Senior Leadership Team have been determined to find a solution to this reduction in funding. NPO funding was a third of the Coliseum’s income, and in addition, its loss affects the ability of the organisation to apply for alternate funding. The financial situation therefore is not sustainable for the current continuation of the business.
Having cancelled all events from 26 March 2023 onwards and refunded tickets for affected performances, the Coliseum entered a period of consultation with all staff on 10 February 2023. A thorough and meaningful consultation period concluded on 13 March 2023.
Educating Rita 2015The Jungle Book 2022Oldham Coliseum Theatre InternalOldham Coliseum has confirmed its closure today.
Our staff remain our priority as we move into the redundancy process. The Coliseum is not the historic building so many have come to adore, it is the company that runs it and the people who fill its halls with memories. In recent weeks we have also lost a beloved friend and colleague, General Manager and former Head of Production Lesley Chenery. Her passing will now forever be entwined in memory with the closure of the company.
Many of our team have lived in Oldham all their lives and worked with the company for over a decade, bringing immense benefit to the town – not just in creating and presenting great theatre – but in offering opportunity and inspiration to all of Oldham’s communities. Coliseum staff benefit from generations of knowledge and skills passed down through departments. The unique skillset of our team includes arts engagement expertise that has allowed the Coliseum to share the mental and physical health benefits created via access to the arts, exemplified in recent projects working in partnership with Oldham’s Roma and South Asian communities; and technical theatre knowledge that profits young people from across Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside, including those not in Education Employment or Training (NEET) who have gained employment after taking part in our UK Theatre Award nominated Teaching Theatre Pathways programme.
We know the theatre’s closure is deeply upsetting for our audiences and participants, not least because of the joyful memories that hundreds of thousands of people from across the North West have of visiting the Coliseum to get involved in projects or to experience our home-produced plays, musicals and award-winning pantomimes.
The Coliseum has been at the heart of theatre in Oldham for over 100 years and has survived two World Wars and a global pandemic. Our theatre company has a highly regarded history in the industry dating back to the Oldham Rep, which launched the careers of many famous faces. This tradition has continued in recent years, actors from Coliseum productions of the past decade now regulars on our television screens. We would like to thank the unions Equity and BECTU for their vocal and passionate support and for highlighting the importance of producing theatre for actors and theatre workers as well as audiences and communities.
The Coliseum’s closure is supported by Arts Council England’s Transition Fund, which was applied for and granted to honour contracts with affected artists and support staff redundancy. In addition, an enhanced redundancy package has been made available for all Coliseum staff from savings derived from the UK producing theatre network, meaning those that have dedicated their lives to producing theatre reap the benefits of that work.
Over the coming weeks we will continue to present the remainder of events currently on sale up to and including Saturday 25 March. We are also considering possible opportunities to mark the closing of the Coliseum and any details of such events will be announced in due course.
The outpouring of love for the theatre over the past weeks has been overwhelming, demonstrating the Coliseum’s impact on the communities of Oldham and further afield. To our audiences, industry colleagues, partners, sponsors, funders, patrons and friends – we cannot thank you enough for your support over more than a century of theatre.
Featured image: Supplied
News
Manchester Airport named UK’s worst in annual Which? survey for third year running
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has officially been declared the worst airport in the UK, according to a new survey by Which?… yet again.
The summer travel season may be drawing to a close now, with hundreds of flights having taken off and landed in our region over the last couple of months, but for any Greater Manchester holidaymakers who are still yet to jet off, an annual ranking by consumer choice group Which? has proved to be pretty grim reading.
That’s because several terminals at the UK’s third largest airport have found themselves at the bottom of the list in Which? latest findings.
Manchester Airport has hit back at the survey and defended itself, saying its own passenger surveys suggest people are “much more positive” about the airport, adding that it was “proud to give people in all parts of the North easy and affordable access to nearly 200 different destinations across the world”.
For its annual survey, Which? spoke to nearly 7,000 passengers to gather feedback about their experiences of flying from UK airports over the last 12 months, and asked them to score the airports across 11 categories.
Manchester Airport has been named the worst in the UK for the third year running / Credit: The Manc Group
Some of these categories including seating, staff, toilets, and of course, the queues we all dread at check in, bag drop, passport control, and security.
And just like in both 2022 and again in 2023, it was Manchester Airport Terminal 3 that ranked right at the bottom, receiving the lowest customer satisfaction score of 37%.
Manchester Terminal 1 ranked one place above that with a score of 40%, while Manchester Terminal 2 was a little further up the the list with a score of 51%, and just saw Luton Airport, London Stansted, and Belfast International Airport sandwiched in between it.
According to Which?, some of the complaints it received about Manchester Airport from passengers who responded to the survey this year was that older people struggled with long walks due to travelators being broken since 2021, difficulties with finding a seat, and “horrendous” queues with people apparently being “corralled like cattle”.
As mentioned though, Manchester Airport has slammed Which?’s findings in a formal statement.
The UK’s third largest airport has hit back at the survey results and defended itself / Credit:
Describing the survey as “disappointing to see”, Manchester Airport’s statement reads: “We understand not every experience is perfect and want all passengers to feel able to raise their concerns directly with us. That is why we speak to them on a daily basis, surveying hundreds of people a month to get in-the-moment feedback from a full range of perspectives.
“That is in stark contrast to Which?, which conducted a tiny and unrepresentative survey of its members six months ago, asking them to recollect airport experiences that could have been as far back in time as April 2023.
“Which? fully understands that its readers form a narrow group of passengers whose views cannot in any way be taken to represent those of the travelling public at large, but chooses to promote its survey findings as if they do.”
Manchester Airport says it’s disappointing see Which? “chase cheap headlines” with its “sensational and over-simplified characterisation of airports” and the different roles they play, adding: “To make matters worse, it has printed inaccurate statements about our facilities and security waiting times that paint a more negative picture than reality.
“This is completely unacceptable.”
Featured Image – Manchester Airport Group
News
Ambitious plans unveiled to create a new river path connecting Salford Quays with the city centre
Emily Sergeant
Ambitious plans to connect Salford Quays with the city centre via a new ‘active travel route’ along the River Irwell have been unveiled.
And the Greater Manchester public is now being asked for their thoughts on it.
Salford City Council has been working in partnership with Manchester City Council and Trafford Council on the original ‘Irwell River Park’ scheme since 2008, and since then work on the project has taken place over the years, usually as and when opportunities have arisen.
Some of these works include the improvement of access to green space at Crescent Meadows, a riverside path alongside the Urban Splash development at Springfield Lane, and the refurbishment of Peel Park and the transformation of Riverside at Chapel Wharf – the latter two made possible thanks to securing Heritage Lottery funding.
Another exciting project was the completion of a new riverside space and a pedestrian/cycling footbridge connecting with Aviva Studios, which was finished last year.
Ambitious plans have been unveiled to create a new river path connecting Salford Quays with the city centre / Credit: Salford City Council
Through the ‘Irwell River Park’ scheme, Salford residents have been able to take advantage of an “improved network of accessible paths close to the river” over the last few years, but now, it’s time for a new chapter.
Salford City Council says its ambition has remained to “further deliver projects alongside the river” following completion of the initial works, which is why plans to create a new active travel route between Salford Quays and the city centre have been unveiled this week, ahead of them going to out to public consultation these next two months.
This consultation will focus on a so-called new strategy that has recently been drafted for Irwell River Park, as well as plans to improve access to the river.
The plans have been unveiled ahead of a public consultation later this month / Credit: Salford City Council
Taking place for six weeks, the consultation will both invite feedback from the public via an online survey from Monday 23 September, as well as three in-person drop in sessions in Salford on 8, 10 and 26 October.
“This refreshed strategy for Irwell River Park is so important,” commented Councillor Mike McCusker from Salford City Council.
“It will focus on making the River Irwell attractive, safe, and easily-accessible from surrounding neighbourhoods and by public transport, and also by connecting local neighbourhoods with the rich history, culture, public spaces and parks that surround the river.”
Daisy Jackson -
16th March 2023 
