Oldham Coliseum Theatre
Encyclopedia
Oldham Coliseum Theatre is a theatre
in Oldham
, Greater Manchester
, England.
Oldham Coliseum is a building-based producing theatre. It has a capacity in its main auditorium
of 585 seats; in addition the theatre has a studio with a capacity of 50 seats. The company produces 8 shows a year on its main stage, offering a balanced programme of drama
, comedy
, musical
, new writing and the annual pantomime
. In addition to in-house produced work on the main stage the theatre also takes in 4 weeks of touring theatre
as well as around 15 non-theatre performances including music
, dance
and stand up comedy. Coliseum@ an offshoot to the theatre’s building based productions promotes a programme of theatre at three community venues.
History
The Coliseum Theatre dates back to 1885 and began life as a Grand American Theatre. Situated in the heart of Oldham and surrounded by almost a dozen other theatres, almost 125 years later, the award winning Coliseum is the only surviving theatre in the town.
The history of the Coliseum is as rich as any other theatre, its past shrouded in mystery, speculation and bad business deals.
In 1885 a Mr Myers contracted local carpenter Thomas Whittaker to build a permanent home for his Grand American Circus in Henshaw Street. A court case soon followed when Mr Myers admitted he was unable to settle the bill. Whittaker found himself owner of the new theatre and without having had any experience at all, decided to embark on a career in show business. In 1887 the town council announced they were planning to build a new market hall on the site of the theatre and so Whittaker had the theatre moved to Fairbottom Street on the site of an old colliery. The opening production was Culvers Circus.
In February 1903 Whittaker sold the theatre to Joseph Ball who ran it on behalf of Peter Yates, the owner of Yates Wine Lodges. In 1911 the Colosseum (as it was then called) began showing silent films in between live acts. In 1918 the theatre was bought by Dobie's Electric Theatres.
In March 1931 the theatre closed and reopened as a cinema but it only survived until March 1932 when the recession caused complete closure. In 1936 a group was formed to campaign for live theatre in Oldham called The Oldham Playgoers Club. In January 1938 The Oldham Repertory Theatre Club opened at the former Temperance Hall in Horsedge Street with its production of Shaw's Arms and the Man. The club was for members only thus avoiding the need to be licensed. Here they provided weekly rep until 1939. Such was their success that they signed the lease on the now derelict Colosseum, they renamed it The Coliseum and in July 1939 they staged their first production in their new home
The Oldham Coliseum was the scene of a tragic accident involving the play that raises the hackles of superstition in many actors: Macbeth.
In January 1947, Harold Norman was an actor playing the role of Macbeth, it is said that he did not care for the usual superstitions observed by actors in ‘The Scottish Play’ referring to the play as Macbeth and rehearsing his lines out loud. During a sword fight scene Harold was accidentally stabbed with a real sword. The wound became infected and he died in Oldham Royal infirmary on the 27th February of peritonitis caused by the sword wound.
This unfortunate death was bound to have an effect on peoples minds, the tragic event, the nature of the play, and Harold’s lack of superstition. Inevitably Harold was thought to have returned to the theatre in spirit form, and he is said to have been seen several times. His apparition appears most often on Thursdays, as this was the day that he was mortally wounded.
Development
The Oldham Coliseum Theatre has developed greatly since its humble beginnings and now offers not only a varied programme of productions but also an extensive selection of Education and Outreach activities for the local communities of Oldham and Greater Manchester.
Past performers include:
Judith Barker
Dora Bryan
Charlie Chaplin
Minnie Driver
Ralph Fiennes
Dame Thora Hird
Anne Kirkbride
William Roache
Kathy Staff
Eric Sykes
Claire Sweeney
Kenneth Alan Taylor
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
in Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England.
Oldham Coliseum is a building-based producing theatre. It has a capacity in its main auditorium
Auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...
of 585 seats; in addition the theatre has a studio with a capacity of 50 seats. The company produces 8 shows a year on its main stage, offering a balanced programme of drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
, musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, new writing and the annual pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
. In addition to in-house produced work on the main stage the theatre also takes in 4 weeks of touring theatre
Touring theatre
A touring company is an independent theatre or dance company that travels, often internationally, being presented at a different theatre in each city....
as well as around 15 non-theatre performances including music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
and stand up comedy. Coliseum@ an offshoot to the theatre’s building based productions promotes a programme of theatre at three community venues.
History
The Coliseum Theatre dates back to 1885 and began life as a Grand American Theatre. Situated in the heart of Oldham and surrounded by almost a dozen other theatres, almost 125 years later, the award winning Coliseum is the only surviving theatre in the town.
The history of the Coliseum is as rich as any other theatre, its past shrouded in mystery, speculation and bad business deals.
In 1885 a Mr Myers contracted local carpenter Thomas Whittaker to build a permanent home for his Grand American Circus in Henshaw Street. A court case soon followed when Mr Myers admitted he was unable to settle the bill. Whittaker found himself owner of the new theatre and without having had any experience at all, decided to embark on a career in show business. In 1887 the town council announced they were planning to build a new market hall on the site of the theatre and so Whittaker had the theatre moved to Fairbottom Street on the site of an old colliery. The opening production was Culvers Circus.
In February 1903 Whittaker sold the theatre to Joseph Ball who ran it on behalf of Peter Yates, the owner of Yates Wine Lodges. In 1911 the Colosseum (as it was then called) began showing silent films in between live acts. In 1918 the theatre was bought by Dobie's Electric Theatres.
In March 1931 the theatre closed and reopened as a cinema but it only survived until March 1932 when the recession caused complete closure. In 1936 a group was formed to campaign for live theatre in Oldham called The Oldham Playgoers Club. In January 1938 The Oldham Repertory Theatre Club opened at the former Temperance Hall in Horsedge Street with its production of Shaw's Arms and the Man. The club was for members only thus avoiding the need to be licensed. Here they provided weekly rep until 1939. Such was their success that they signed the lease on the now derelict Colosseum, they renamed it The Coliseum and in July 1939 they staged their first production in their new home
The Oldham Coliseum was the scene of a tragic accident involving the play that raises the hackles of superstition in many actors: Macbeth.
In January 1947, Harold Norman was an actor playing the role of Macbeth, it is said that he did not care for the usual superstitions observed by actors in ‘The Scottish Play’ referring to the play as Macbeth and rehearsing his lines out loud. During a sword fight scene Harold was accidentally stabbed with a real sword. The wound became infected and he died in Oldham Royal infirmary on the 27th February of peritonitis caused by the sword wound.
This unfortunate death was bound to have an effect on peoples minds, the tragic event, the nature of the play, and Harold’s lack of superstition. Inevitably Harold was thought to have returned to the theatre in spirit form, and he is said to have been seen several times. His apparition appears most often on Thursdays, as this was the day that he was mortally wounded.
Development
The Oldham Coliseum Theatre has developed greatly since its humble beginnings and now offers not only a varied programme of productions but also an extensive selection of Education and Outreach activities for the local communities of Oldham and Greater Manchester.
Past performers include:
Judith Barker
Judith Barker
Judith Barker is an English actress, best known for her role as the upwardly mobile homewrecker Janet Reid on the soap opera Coronation Street, which she played from 1969 to 1977....
Dora Bryan
Dora Bryan
Dora May Bryan OBE is an English actress of stage, film and television.-Early life:Bryan was born as Dora May Broadbent in Southport, Lancashire, England. Her father was a salesman and she attended Hathershaw County Primary School in Oldham, Lancashire...
Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
Minnie Driver
Minnie Driver
Minnie Driver is an English actress and singer-songwriter. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting, as well as for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her work in the television series The Riches.- Early life...
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
Dame Thora Hird
Anne Kirkbride
Anne Kirkbride
Anne Kirkbride is an English actress, best known for her long-running role as Deirdre Barlow in Coronation Street which she has played for thirty-nine years.-Coronation Street:...
William Roache
William Roache
William Patrick Harry Roache MBE is a British actor, best known for his role as Ken Barlow in the soap opera Coronation Street...
Kathy Staff
Kathy Staff
Kathy Staff was an English actress, well known for her work on British television...
Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes, CBE is an English radio, television and film writer, actor and director whose performing career has spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and/or performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Peter...
Claire Sweeney
Claire Sweeney
Claire Jane Sweeney is an English actress, singer and television personality best known for playing the role of Lindsey Corkhill in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside and her appearance on the first series of the Reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother.-Early Life:Sweeney was born in Walton, Liverpool...
Kenneth Alan Taylor