Olivia Bridge shares the tears and triumphs from an unforgettable final show at Oldham Coliseum. 

Oldham Coliseum staged a show like no other for its final production last week and will be remembered in history as going down fighting, dancing and singing to the very last breath.

Unable to survive without Arts Council England funds, the Fairbottom Street theatre announced it had no other choice but to close and make redundancies earlier this year.

Until the new £24m theatre is built on Union Street, Oldhamers fear they will be starved of theatre in the interim - and at any rate, many simply don't want to see the town's most historic and adored centrepiece fall by the wayside.

However, while that now seems the most likely case, the Coliseum said it was determined to put on one last showstopper, Encore, on Friday (March 31), which promised to go out with a bang and on its own terms with a script-in-hand production that was pieced together in just eight days.

The Oldham Times: The final posters outside the Coliseum doorsThe final posters outside the Coliseum doors (Image: Newsquest, Olivia Bridge)

"If we're going out, we're doing it our way", the programme to the night's event read.

And what a rollercoaster of emotions it was. There wasn't an empty seat in the house as the audience of all ages cried, laughed and clapped harder than this auditorium had ever witnessed in its 138-year history.

The first act was brought to life by a lively pantomime of performers - after all, it wouldn't be a send-off without an appearance of the theatre's longstanding sell-out show with its adored cast who have become almost like the furniture to the Coliseum over the years.

Chris Lawson, the artistic director and chief executive, then set the tone of the evening, calling it a celebration, albeit a bittersweet one.

"How can I sum up 138 years in one night?

"There was no way I was going to lock the front doors and cry - the Coliseum deserves a night", he added.

Comedian Justin Moorhouse, then lightened the mood by poking fun at politicians before Steve Royle, the 2020 Britain's Got Talent runner-up who performed at the Coliseum as a boy, tickled the audience with his ventriloquism act.

The Young Rep company, a team of 16 to 25-year-olds, performed their very own show that they aptly called The Final Curtain.

The Oldham Times: There wasn't an empty seat in the houseThere wasn't an empty seat in the house (Image: Darren Robinson Photography)

In homage to the theatre's legendary resident ghost, Harold Norman, the show told how the actor was killed during a performance of Macbeth in 1947 on that very stage.

Harold was accidentally stabbed with a sword during a fight scene and has haunted the wings ever since, so the legend goes.

Kevin Shaw, another Coliseum legend, then introduced the next act, Dreamers, a musical which was based on the former Oldham nightclub renowned for its sticky floors.

As its director, he said it was "the most joyous thing I've ever been involved in".

The group then sang a rendition of the act that relayed some of the hedonistic antics that went on inside the former club, with references to the 'walk of shame' and 'I'm never going out again'.

The Oldham Times: The panto musical medley The panto musical medley (Image: Darren Robinson Photography)

Towards the end of the first act, the 'Gypsy Jam', a three-man band made up of Richard O'Neil, Juice Vamosi and Tommy on the water jug, graced the stage with thanks, claiming to be only the second-ever act of Romani heritage to tread its boards after Charlie Chaplin.

The penultimate performance saw a snippet of one of the theatre's award-winning shows, The Kitchen Sink, featuring the Coli's very own talented star, Sam Glen.

Act one was then poignantly wrapped up with a rendition of 'One Day More' from Les Mis, by Peter Wakefield 'and friends', in an emotional and powerful performance that was met with a standing ovation.

Kicking off the second act was a 15-strong cast from pantos past and present with a musical pop medley, from Robin Hood to a cow and 'a Stranger Thing'.

There was then a special performance from Brassed Off, featuring William Travis and Diggle's very own brass band trumpeting behind him.

The irony in his soliloquy about the closure of the pits and how the government "decimates industries, all in the name of progress" was arguably not lost on the audience who could draw parallels to the closure of the Coliseum and the devastating impact on the community to that felt by mining families, decades ago.

The Oldham Times: Brassed Off featured Diggle Brass BandBrassed Off featured Diggle Brass Band (Image: Newsquest, Olivia Bridge)

We then had a hilarious performance of Beryl which tells the story of the famous Yorkshire woman, Beryl Burton, who was crowned a cycling champ having beaten the odds - and the men.

Stumbling over her German accent, the cast members even shared a giggle with the audience during the performance.

Kenneth Alan Taylor then came on and said it was 1959 when he first stepped foot on the Coliseum stage.

He has gone on to perform in more than 320 plays and resume roles including artistic director in 1978 and chief executive in 1996 at the theatre.

"But why do I keep coming back to Oldham?

"It's an easy answer: you. The audience. I've performed all over the British Isles and abroad and there is no audience like you", he said.

While Taylor said the night was a celebration, he also said it was "heartbreaking" as he suggested the Coliseum was irreplaceable.

Taylor added: "I don't want an arts centre. They say this building's not fit for purpose - well restore it then."

The Oldham Times: Christopher Eccleston and Maxine Peake in a rendition of I, Daniel BlakeChristopher Eccleston and Maxine Peake in a rendition of I, Daniel Blake (Image: Darren Robinson Photography)

Christopher Eccleston performed alongside Maxine Peake, who has been at the forefront of calls to 'save' the Coliseum from closure, an adaptation of I, Daniel Blake, to rapturous applause.

The show, which sheds light on the inhumane nature of benefits sanctions and a broken Universal Credit system, was meant to run at the Coliseum in June and July this year.

Lauryn Redding then sang - twice, after a microphone difficulty - a song from Bread and Roses before Kevin Shaw came back to talk about his 17-year career at the Coliseum.

"Walking into the building felt like coming home", he said, as he talked about being "proud" of what the team managed to pull off with "big shows on tight budgets".

Sue Devaney then entered the building in comedic fashion before belting out 'The Thingymubob' from Our Gracie and 'No Regrets' by Edith Piaf.

Her vocals stunned the audience as she bowed out and blew kisses to the stage, saying "I love this theatre".

The Oldham Times: The Coliseum cast were taken on stage for their final applause The Coliseum cast were taken on stage for their final applause (Image: Darren Robinson Photography)

Edging towards the dreaded end, Clara Darcy gave an impassioned speech about the closure, claiming there will be "ghosts turning in their graves, raging from the ineptitude of a few former board managers".

"There are still stories to be told, songs to be sung, dances to be danced.

"We have to keep up the fight", she added.

Finally, with tears in his eyes, Chris came back to draw the show to a close.

"£1.85m can't put a price on this", he said, "this is priceless".

To sniffles and silence, at Chris' request, he led cast members by hand back onto the stage before the audience could give the Coliseum one final clap as the curtain came down for the final time.

A bleary-eyed audience filled the auditorium with applause for several minutes and although it felt like a premature goodbye to a place that still has so much more left to give, the takeaway message was that the fight is far from over.

It isn't goodbye, it's farewell for now.