Brolly good Shows

Town's delight after historic theatre saved

- CHARLOTTE HALL

A WOMAN is peering up from under a polka-dotted umbrella to look at a washed-out building on Fairbottom Street in Oldham.

Above the stained white walls, faded letters spell out the theatre's name, almost unreadable.

The Coliseum's tired facade contrasts starkly with two shiny new posters affixed beside its boarded-up entrance.

One sign reads: 'Oldham Coliseum - has been saved - BY YOU!' For now, that's the only indication that the fate of this historic and much-loved venue has changed.

The 139-year-old theatre closed down in March last year after losing its funding from Arts Council England.

But, as reported in the M.E.N last week, thanks to a tireless campaign by a group of grassroots campaigners, the council has agreed to foot the bill for a £10m refurb to bring it back into working order, in time for Panto season 2025.

"When I heard the news I just had to come and see it," the woman with the umbrella, Melanie Duignan, said.

The English teacher, 53, has lived and worked in London for much of her life but has never forgotten the many trips she made as a teenager from Bolton to the 'most accessible theatre' in Greater Manchester.

Melanie said: "I remember there was a musical called Girlfriends about the WAAF (Women's Auxiliary Air Force].

"I think I must have had a bit of a crush on one of the actors, so I went about six times - made my boyfriend take me twice, the poor lad.

"It's full of really remarkable people, wonderful plays." Melanie is just one of thousands of people in Oldham and beyond whose lives have been shaped by the theatre. It's what has put such force behind the year-long campaign to rescue the site on Fairbottom Street.