Moving and Awards at the Coliseum

There is a huge sense of change and excitement around the organisation at the moment. The big move out of the building has been in the planning stages for nearly a year and now it’s all starting to feel very real (and exciting). Last week the production teams were making sure the Old Library was ready for the Taking Steps cast to start rehearsals on Monday. All the props from the store have been moved over and are being stored on the old library book shelves… but we have not alphabetised them though. The marketing and admin teams have made sure the green room (where the actors have their breaks) is welcoming with production photography and posters on the walls and nice comfy sofas.

It’s an absolutely beautiful and spacious building, we’re certainly not used to having an awful lot of room! The cast have a fantastic rehearsal area and are settling into the building. A couple of familiar faces in the cast include Jackie Morrison and Maeve Larkin who were both in Private Lives this time last year. The rest are all new to the Coliseum.

Steven Pinder in Deathtrap

Speaking of Private Lives, the Manchester Theatre Awards nominations were announced last week and the Coliseum has received eight including Best Production for Private Lives and Best Actor for James Simmons who played Elyot. Harry Livingstone got a nomination for his role as Jim in The Glass Menagerie as well as Emma Matthews for her role as Sylvia in Stepping Out – both for Best Newcomer. Our regular designer Foxton also got some recognition for the fantastic work on Deathtrap and Stepping Out. Dick Whittington also got a nod for Best Special Entertainment and Dancing at Lughnasa (a tour we received from The Original Theatre Company) received a nomination for Best Visiting Entertainment.

While Taking Steps reaches the end of the first week of rehearsals, work on The Hound of the Baskervilles continues. I went over to the Lawrence Batley Theatre for their season launch last week where we open the show before taking it on tour. I had a chat with the artistic director on stage about the production and why I chose to programme it. I held auditions recently and have nearly finalised the cast and cannot wait to get started with rehearsals. Remember, if you’re worried about how to get to Huddersfield we’re laying on some coaches which with a pick up from Bradshaw Street car park.

See you out and about.

Kevin Shaw
Artistic Director