A new Live at the Library season promises to brighten up the darkening winter days with a selection of fun, film and drama to suit everyone’s taste.
The cultural events are set to run until March of next year, ensuring Oldhamers will have enough to do until the first days of spring.
Cllr Peter Dean, Cabinet member for communities and culture, said: “Our events cater for all ages and tastes so I’d urge you to pick up a brochure to see what’s on offer.”
We’ve combed through the planned programme to showcase some of the festival’s highlights.
Prepare for Halloween, and then keep the spooky spirit going with Nosferatu - the first cinematic portrayal of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
The silent film, released in 1922, will be shown at Oldham Library on Thursday, October 19, at 7pm.
Live music will accompany the film, as it would have done when premiered a century ago.
After warming-up for Halloween with the silent film, the spirit of All Hallow’s Eve will live on with Victorian Gothic.
This ‘anthology stage show’ will see three classic 19th-century thrillers performed, and promises ‘dramatic storytelling at its best.’ Victorian Gothic will be performed at Uppermill Library on Tuesday, November 14.
Tickets for Nosferatu and Victorian Gothic are £6 each.
Take in the highbrow with ballet Island Movements: An epic tale of a Windrush family a short ballet that follows the experience of a young Caribbean soldier.
Starting with his World War Two experience, the audience follows his move to the UK, and the life of his family, up to the present day.
The performance, scheduled for Tuesday, October 24 at Oldham Library, will be driven by a mix of reggae, calypso, and contemporary black British music.
The first black British dancer to graduate from the Royal Ballet School, Darren Panton, has choreographed the piece, alongside Patrick Williams.
Tickets for this ballet are free.
Introduce a toddler to opera Under the Little Red Moon promises to be an interesting event — an opera suitable for babies aged between six and 24 months.
Developed by the English Touring Opera, and made in consultation with paediatricians, the opera aims to explore language development through music and movement.
Another free event, the opera will take place in Oldham Library on Friday, November 10 at 10.30am.
Get into the festive spirit with a panto A more traditional form of family entertainment, a Christmas musical will be performed throughout December at Oldham Library.
The Wrong Reindeer, presented by Oldham Theatre Workshop, is a play about "a town where there’s nothing to look forward to".
Oldhamers, however, certainly can look forward to this production, which promises "an adventure that will remind everyone of the true meaning of kindness".
Tickets for the show are £8.
Brush up on your French skills in collaboration with the Alliance Française — that’s the French Alliance, to you and me — with Oldham Library screening a classic of French cinema.
Le Boucher, or The Butcher, is a psychological thriller from 1970.
Described as ‘arguably Chabrol’s masterpiece’ — Chabrol being an influential filmmaker of the ‘New Wave’ style — Le Boucher begins as a love story, and ends with a spree of gruesome murders.
Screened in the original French, happily English subtitles are provided, allowing anyone to enjoy this continental classic.
Le Boucher will be screened at 7pm on Thursday, November 2.
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