Former Coronation Street stars have described the closure of one of Britain’s oldest theatres, the Oldham Coliseum, as “catastrophic and heartbreaking” and vowed to fight for its survival.
The 138-year-old theatre said it would be forced to close at the end of next month after its £1.8m government subsidy was axed by Arts Council England (ACE).
The Oldham Coliseum is the biggest venue outside London to lose its ACE funding from April. The decision, which stems from a review aimed at rebalancing investment outside the capital, came despite Oldham being earmarked as a priority for “levelling up for culture” money by the government.
Julie Hesmondhalgh, who has starred in Coronation Street, Broadchurch and Happy Valley, said she was “devastated” by the announcement but was involved in discussions to save the theatre. She told the Guardian: “In a time when we are talking about levelling up, about access to culture and art as a tool for regeneration, this decision feels incomprehensible to me.
“Oldham is a town that has been hit hard by austerity and the cost of living, and the long-term effects of the closure of the Coliseum can only mean further hardship. Conversations are happening and there is a massive appetite to save the theatre, so watch this space.”
The Coliseum announced on Tuesday that it could not survive without the £1.8m arts subsidy and had entered a consultation period on the redundancy of its 70 staff. The theatre said all planned shows and events would go ahead until Sunday 26 March but proposed that its doors would close for good on Friday 31 March.
Antony Cotton, best known for playing Sean Tully in Coronation Street, said the Coliseum had changed the lives of scores of actors and become home to them. “That’s why they call it a house. It is the jewel in Oldham council’s crown, and to lose it would be both catastrophic and heartbreaking – to the town and to the people of Oldham and beyond. We must not let this happen. Please don’t take away our home.”
ACE said Oldham would still receive a £1.8m subsidy but this would not go to the Coliseum, which dates to 1885. The venue has hosted international stars such as Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel, Minnie Driver and Ralph Fiennes, and helped launch the careers of local actors such as Happy Valley’s Sarah Lancashire.
ACE, which is an arms-length body of the government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said it had agreed to provide £358,856 in “transition support” to the Coliseum to help “give the company time and space to make decisions about its future”, as well as its current funding, which ends in March.
On the £1.8m subsidy for Oldham, ACE said: “We’re working closely with Oldham council on how this significant investment should be used to support the future of performing arts in Oldham and we are fully behind plans for a performing space for the town.”
The charity that runs the Coliseum said ACE had raised governance and other concerns in November but that these had since been addressed. Its chief executive, Susan Wildman, and the chair of its board of trustees, Jan O’Connor, left the organisation in December.
