A new action group has been formed in Oldham to campaign for the continuation of live theatre in wake of the Coliseum closure.

The Oldham Coliseum closed for good on Friday in an emotional goodbye show.

The Fairbottom Street theatre has been forced to close after it was snubbed for funds from the Arts Council back in November.

While Oldham Council announced a new £24m theatre will be built in the next three years, residents, creatives and the Coliseum staff have voiced concern that the borough will be starved of live performances in the meantime.

 

Now, however, it appears a campaign group called Oldham Theatre Action Group has been created.

The group said after the curtain closed on Friday, "we wept" but "today we rise".

"We continue. We grow. We move", it announced.

Introducing themselves in a post on social media, the action group said they are a "group of audience members and creatives" who are "passionate about seeing live theatre continue to be produced in Oldham, for Oldham audiences as the Coliseum has done so successfully and for so long".

The group said it is offering "support, time and expertise" to find new ways to benefit the town and the Coliseum's audiences but stressed it is not an official organisation, nor is it affiliated to any trade union or organisation.

It said: "We are solution-focused. 

"We are not here to revisit how we got here or to assign any blame but to look at how we move forward - to make sure that Oldham audiences continue to be able to see theatre made in Oldham, for Oldham.

"We want to work with Oldham Council, Arts Council England, the new board of Oldham Coliseum Theatre, local politicians and charities to explore options for how this could work practically", the group added.