By Steve Cooke
I am delighted that Oldham Coliseum Theatre has announced its first full season since the pandemic; with drama alongside comedy, music, magic, and dance - plus the highly anticipated return of the theatre’s much-loved and sorely missed annual pantomime.
Family fun at the Coliseum includes a ‘roarsome’ adaptation of Julia Donaldson’s Zog (12 – 14 August 2021) and Northern Ballet’s children’s ballet of Pinocchio (Thursday 10 February 2022).
Also, this summer the Coliseum teams will make a return to the rehearsal room for the theatre’s first home-produced show for the Coliseum stage since early 2020. Running from Thursday 16 September – Saturday 2 October, Love N Stuff is a comedy about love, marriage, and the family you choose.
On Wednesday 6 & Thursday 7 October LUNG Theatre return with Who Cares. Adapted from real-life testimonies, Who Cares examines the impact of austerity, our failing social care system and what happens when a child becomes the parent.
From Tuesday 19 – Saturday 23 October the Coliseum welcomes The John Godber Company with Godber’s latest play, Sunny Side Up. Barney, Cath and Tina are down to earth proprietors of a struggling Yorkshire coast B&B. Told in Godber’s signature style, they share their stories of awkward clients, snooty relatives, and eggs over easy.
The Coliseum welcomes a star-studded production of Washington Irving’s Sleepy Hollow from Tuesday 26 – Friday 30 October. Coronation Street legends Wendi Peters and AATA friend Bill Ward lead an incredible ensemble in this thrilling new adaptation.
Penned by Coliseum Supported Artist Nana-Kofi Kufuor, My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored will run at Oldham Library Performance Space on Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 November.
Pantomime is back! After a year’s delay Aladdin flies into Oldham on his magic carpet from Saturday 13 November 2021 – Saturday 8 January 2022.
Coliseum Artistic Director Chris Lawson directs Joe Penhall’s multi-award-winning Blue/Orange, running from Thursday 17 February – Saturday 5 March 2022. At its premiere production in the early noughties Blue/Orange won the Olivier Award, The Critics Circle Award and the Evening Standard Award for Best New Play.
Richard Cameron’s raucous comedy The Glee Club arrives in Oldham from Tuesday 15 – Saturday 19 March.
From Tuesday 22 – Saturday 26 March Eastern Angles present a thrilling retelling of a real-life murder mystery, The Ballad of Maria Marten.
There will be in-depth previews in the coming months.