“I wouldn’t be an actor if it wasn’t for Oldham Coliseum," says Christopher Eccleston
manchestereveningnews.co.ukChristopher Eccleston has said he "wouldn't be an actor if it wasn't for Oldham Coliseum" following the closure of the historic theatre.
The actor appeared alongside Maxine Peake to perform an extract of I, Daniel Blake for the venue’s final performance on Friday evening after Arts Council England (ACE) announced funding for the venue would be cut.
The 59-year-old star of screen and stage, who grew up in Salford, said he went to see productions at Oldham Coliseum in his youth, describing it as a “beacon” for actors around the North West. READ MORE: The street where people say they 'won't survive' if traffic is allowed to go down it He told Martha Kearney on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think it’s tragic that Oldham borough is losing a theatre in a time when we’re supposed to be levelling up. “The question in my mind is, if they can get rid of Oldham Coliseum, which has been there for over 100 years, where’s next for the North West because if you grow up in the North West, you don’t feel that culture and the arts belong to you. “You don’t believe if you come from a council estate that you can be an actor or a poet or a painter.
So places like Oldham Coliseum…they’re a beacon for people like me. “I wouldn’t be an actor if it wasn’t for Oldham Coliseum, (and) places like that, and they’re disappearing.
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