The ”wonderfully wacky and weird” - I totally agree with the
description in his promotional leaflet - comedian John Shuttleworth (Graham
Fellows) is back on the road after a longish absence from touring - and we are
delighted he will be paying us a visit with his new show Out of Our Sheds on Thursday 30 May.
Shuttleworth’s easy on-stage awkwardness underscores Graham’s
brilliant characterisation and comic inventiveness. He’s been playing
Shuttleworth for so long the character is completely real. If you flick through
any Coliseum brochure, or explore the events guide on our website, you will
know that between our drama productions we always have one night events ranging
from musical theatre to comedy, and music gigs of every musical hue.
These one-nighters are an important part of our programming
policy because they are absolutely fundamental to our commitment to provide
entertainment for the whole of our local community, young and old. We aim to
have a diverse range of events to appeal to as many people as possible.
The Shake It Up! programme (22 – 27 July)
is one such community-based idea –put together by a group of 14 – 25 year olds,
and thus sure to add to our events schedule material I might not even have
heard of (since I’m far too old). More on that in another column – not about me
being old, but about what the week will involve!
I know from chatting to audiences on these nights in our two
bars that the comedy and music one-nights are often their first visit to the
Coliseum. It’s a pleasure to hear their first
time comments about the theatre’s warm welcome and its intimate auditorium. All we can do is make sure they have a
sufficiently good time to come back to catch a play – homegrown or otherwise,
and I’m pleased to say quite a lot of people do. But I happily accept that those who come here
to comedy or music nights might have no great interest in theatre. We can
persuade and cajole, but we can’t insist!
One terrific thing about these events is that the atmosphere
in the place positively buzzes. Audiences for our plays may or may not know the
play or the performers, so their feelings may be a little more reserved at
first. But if you are coming to see John Shuttleworth or Mike Harding, you’re a
fan and you expect to have a great time – so you do!
So I’ll make you a promise: we’ll keep putting on a lot of
non-drama entertainment, if you keep coming to watch and enjoy it!
One nights at Oldham Coliseum Theatre this season:
John Shuttleworth: Thurs 30 May at 7.30pm
Magic - A Kind of Queen : Queen's Greatest Hits : Friday 31 May at 7.30pm
Broadway and Beyond: shows from Broadway's finest musicals: Sat 1 June at 7.30pm
Sounds of the Glen Miller Era: Sat 20 July at 7.30pm
See you at the theatre,
Kevin Shaw
Artistic Director
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