Activists fighting to save Oldham Coliseum, which closed earlier this year, are organising a flash mob event in Oldham town centre on what would have been panto opening day, Saturday 11 November.
Supporters are invited to meet at the Coliseum, in costume as panto characters if they wish, at 3:30PM to join "an afternoon of solidarity and support to save the building."
There are plans to replace the Coliseum with a new theatre in the town centre, which has yet to be built. However, the protesters say that the new building, "features a smaller stage, significantly fewer seats, no fly tower and limited wing space, which would compromise the viability of the Coliseum as a producing theatre... Additionally, concerns have been raised about access requirements, including limited lift space and the absence of an adult changing room, which is a statutory necessity for public buildings."
Actor Julie Hesmondhalgh, who has been a vocal supporter of the campaign along with her writer husband Ian Kershaw, said, "far from being over, the passion and enthusiasm to save the historic and wonderful Coliseum and reinstate it as a producing theatre—the jewel in Oldham’s crown—is growing in momentum. I feel very proud to be campaigning alongside artists and audiences to restart a conversation about saving the theatre, at a fraction of the millions of what the proposed new build would cost."
The group's stated aim is, "to breathe new life into the auditorium, expand the foyer, backstage area and café-bar space, and create modern studios and rehearsal spaces that will ensure the Coliseum thrives for the next 138 years."