Praise for Oldham...

We’re now in the third week of panto rehearsals which means that opening night is just over a week away. You will have also had a first glimpse at the dazzling pantomime costumes designed by Celia Perkins.

The Reindeer Parade is one of many events that Oldham Council have organised for the festive period. There was the fantastic fireworks display which took place last Monday is returning with a bang (excuse the pun) after a hiatus of over ten years. Still to come there’s the Christmas Lights Switch-On on Sunday 18 November with local Olympian Nicola White, a member of Team GB’s Bronze winning Olympic Hockey team. She’ll be pushing the button with Rastamouse – anyone with kids will know exactly who that is.

They’ve also lined a great selection of themed weekends including Fairytale Christmas, Winter Wonderland and finally a Victorian Christmas Weekend complete with carousel and Dickensian characters.

Oldham Council gets some bad press – as with most councils across the country – but they do an great deal of positive things for the people of Oldham including all the events that they have programmed. The Coliseum wouldn’t have survived were it not for the continued investment from the Council. They also support organisations such as Oldham Theatre Workshop and the Gallery and Library which is a fantastic space. Although disruptive their work on the Metrolink will pay off and revitalise the town once it’s finished. Plus they provide the great resource – Go! Oldham – which is a free promotional service that lists events going on in the borough for people under 20 years old.

Oldham has a lot to be proud of, not only does it have a thriving professional theatre, art gallery and university campus, the town also holds a ‘Best City’ title and solver gilt award for community involvement from the Britain in Bloom awards which they won this year. And who could forget the beauty of the Alexandra Park where we performed Star-Cross’d. The staff at the park keep the space looking fantastic all year round and the Victorian features made great set pieces for the Coliseum production.

Anyway, back to panto. Today we’re trying out the slop scene in rehearsals, with real slop. We need to make sure the whole routine works ahead of tech week even if it is a bit messy…

See you at panto.

Kevin Shaw
Artisitc Director