The theatre stages of Greater Manchester are groaning a huge
variety of top quality talent at the moment, there’s something for everyone to
see and Oldham Coliseum is no exception. Currently my ears are ringing with the
sound of an auditorium full of laughter at our current production of Noël Coward’s
Hay Fever as the central Bliss family
make life intolerable for their weekend guests – to our excruciating delight of
course.
But we also have one eye on the fabulous upcoming touring
production of Sebastian Faulks’s novel Birdsong,
the West End hit comes to the Coliseum on Monday 1 July for one week only.
I also hear that the cast of a much-loved tea time soap opera will be joining
us to cheer on one of their own who is starring in the play.
The stage-adaptation of the widely cherished book, which
came thirteenth in a 2003 BBC poll to find the nation’s favourite book, tells
the story of a young Englishman in pre-war France. His idyllic life is
interrupted by the outbreak of WWI and he finds himself in the midst of horrors
of the Battle of the Somme. Birdsong’s
setting precedes Hay Fever by a mere
ten years but they could not be more of a contrast to one another – we
certainly do like variety here.
For the more youthful among us with eyes on a long holiday
after their current exams there is still the opportunity to come along to any
of our shows for just £5 if you are under 26.
Some of the young people we work
with here aren’t giving themselves a break however. They’re busy planning the
week long Shake It UP! festival, beginning Monday 22 July, where the Coliseum
will be totally under their control.
Among everything else going on we are also gearing up for
our season launch announcement. If you want a sneak peak and a free night of
entertainment on us then we are throwing open our doors on Monday 24 for a very
special launch party. While it’s a free night on us to say thank you for
supporting the Coliseum, booking is required if you’d like to join us - ring our Box Office on 0161 624 2829 to confirm your attendance. I’ll be on stage to introduce the new season
followed by some special musical entertainment and exclusive skits from Sue
McCormick of Ladies’ Day fame as well
as the multi-talented Bernard Wrigley.
Also excitingly the theatre will be launching a new scheme
at the Season Launch. I will be able to tell you more on the
evening, but in a nut shell we currently have a golden opportunity for our
loyal audience to show their love and support for what we do. The Arts Council
are currently matching everything we manage to raise, pound for pound for a
limited time. So you’ll be doubling your money. In fact more than that: £100 in
a year becomes £125 with Gift Aid, then £250 overall! So any support given for
the work on the stage, growing new talent and in our local communities will
have more than twice the impact!
See you at the theatre,
Kevin Shaw
Artistic Director
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