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PERFORMERS’ union Equity lobbied a meeting of Oldham Council in Greater Manchester on Monday night over the proposed closure of the town’s historic Coliseum Theatre.
The Arts Council of England has withdrawn funding for the theatre, which is reputed to be the birthplace of pantomime.
Oldham Council has pledged to build a new theatre but the Coliseum company faces being disbanded with more than 70 redundancies.
Equity lobbied the council meeting at which the closure and the new theatre were to be discussed.
An Equity statement said: “We know that the decision-maker who can fix this is the Arts Council of England.
“All they have to do is return funding to Oldham Coliseum theatre company to save 70+ jobs and a historic theatre company.
“Tonight we kept the issue high on everyone’s agenda by turning up to Oldham Council to make sure they hear our concerns about the new theatre space, and ensure that the local community and our members are consulted at every stage.”
The council has been contacted for comment.
