“Hands off Oldham!” This was the chant led by actress Maxine Peake at a public meeting held to save the historic Oldham Coliseum in Greater Manchester.
The star, known for TV programmes including Dinnerladies, Shameless and Anne, hailed local theatres as the “lifeblood” of communities as she spoke at the event.
She was one of several famous faces among an estimated 400 people supporting the campaign, following the announcement that funding will be cut.
Image: Actress Maxine Peake. Pic: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP
Oldham Coliseum, which was built in 1885, faces closure at the end of March. Arts Council England says the venue has been facing “financial and governance challenges for some time”, and that the building, which is owned by Oldham Council, is “reaching its natural end”.
The organisation is backing plans by Oldham Council for a new theatre in the town but says that after current funding ends for the Coliseum it has agreed additional support of almost £360,000 “to help with decisions about the future”.
But Peake, who is originally from Bolton in Greater Manchester, told attendees at the meeting on Tuesday: “It’s all about community and it’s about what this theatre means to Oldham. When I was a young actor, actors from Oldham gave me inspiration; it made me think, ‘you can do it’.
‘If you can’t see it, you can’t be it’
“There was this amazing talent with this theatre in the centre of it… and there’s a saying: ‘If you can’t see it, you can’t be it’. It’s about what spaces like this give to the audiences that come in.”
She continued: “As we have a government that is further and further dividing communities… theatres have become community centres.
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“Even if I hadn’t been an actor, it gave me inspiration in my life to be braver, and watching theatre gives me inspiration to be braver.”.
Image: Peake pictured on stage at the meeting. Pic: Equity/PA
Oldham Council recently announced plans for a new theatre in the borough, reportedly costing £24 million, which is scheduled to open in 2026.
“They’ve got to pull their finger out, this is not good enough – a three-year wait? No way,” Peake said. “Art should not be for the elite, it should be for everybody.”
Following her speech, Peake led a “hands off Oldham” chant.
Other speakers at the event, organised by performing arts union Equity, included playwright Ian Kershaw, Tony Award-nominated actor Paul Hilton and Ackley Bridge actress Zoe Iqbal.
Paul Liversey, northwest regional official for Equity, said the theatre’s closure would create “a vacuum of arts access” in the town.
“While Oldham Council’s recommitment to building a new theatre is positive news, it still does not address the immediate problems that come with the Coliseum’s closure,” he said.
“These include the redundancies faced by Equity members who work there, alongside the fact that until the opening of the new venue – scheduled for 2026, so at least three years from now – there will be no theatre in the borough.”
‘The building is reaching its natural end’
A spokesperson for Arts Council England acknowledged in a statement that Oldham Coliseum is a “well-loved fixture” in the town and “understandably many people have strong feelings” about its future.
The statement continued: “Oldham Coliseum Ltd has been facing financial and governance challenges for some time and as guardians of public money we could not invest in an organisation which we assessed to be such a high risk.
“Their funding continues until the end of March after which we’ve agreed additional support of nearly £360,000 to help them with decisions about the future.
“Arts Council England is absolutely committed to supporting arts and culture for the people of Oldham, and we’re standing by our commitment to invest £1.85 million in performing arts in the town and overall our investment in the arts in Oldham will be higher than ever before.
“The Oldham Coliseum building, which is reaching its natural end, is owned by Oldham Council and has never been part of our funding to the company.”
The organisation says it is “fully behind” the council’s plans for a new performing space “that will be informed by the legacy of the Oldham Coliseum and which will ensure there’s brilliant theatre in Oldham for people to enjoy for years to come”.
Sky News has contacted Oldham Council for comment.
Social media star “Big John” Fisher has said he is being deported from Australia after he was detained over visa issues.
Fisher, known for reviewing fast food online, arrived in Australia on Tuesday for appearances in Perth and Sydney.
In posts on his Instagram, he said he was questioned by border officials for four hours in the city of Perth.
He said he was due to head home on Wednesday, his birthday, at 6.30pm local time.
“My visa was legal coming in but they are not happy with what I am doing here so they are sending me home,” he said. “To be truthful, I just want to go home now.
“When common sense goes out the window you lose a bit of hope with human beings.
“Well even though I am under lock and key it’s my birthday, I’m still smiling and I still love Australia.
“Just can’t wait to get home to my family and good old England.”
It is understood Fisher was travelling on an incorrect visa.
An Australian Border Force spokesperson said it did not comment on individual passengers.
Fisher, who has more than 680,000 followers on Instagram, went viral for his love of Chinese takeaway and is best known for his use of the catchphrase “bosh”.
He makes regular appearances at restaurants, clubs and major events around the world.
His son, British heavyweight boxer Johnny Fisher, wrote on Instagram: “The Aussies have detained Big John and are sending him home- rumour has it they are frightened of his express pace bowling ahead of the Ashes.”
They’re getting through 70kg of rice a day and the wholesaler has run out of noodles. Yes, Sumo returns to London on Wednesday.
It’s just the second time a Grand Tournament has been held outside of Japan – and this is a sport that has records going back more than 1,500 years.
It’s 34 years since the Royal Albert Hall hosted the only previous such event on foreign soil – and the appetite for tickets meant all five days sold out immediately.
Much of the focus is on the two grand champions or yokozuna, the 74th and 75th men to attain the rank.
They’re the Mongolian Hoshoryu Tomokatsu, plus Japan’s Onosato Daiki – who this year became the quickest wrestler to achieve the rank in the modern era.
“I’m happy that Sumo is back after so many years,” Onosato said. “I hope I can show the UK fans how fantastic Sumo is.”
“Being a yokozuna has a lot of responsibility,” Hoshoryu told Sky Sports. “We have to show everyone an example of what a yokozuna is – and that’s very difficult.
“My uncle was a yokozuna – and I’m happy to follow in his footsteps. But I came here to London as a yokozuna which he didn’t, so I’m even happier.”
The two are already great rivals.
Image: Onosato Daiki became the quickest ever to achieve yokozuna rank. Pic: AP
At the recent Aki Basho – the most prestigious tournament on the sumo calendar – the pair finished with identical records after 15 days of bouts.
It all came down to a final play-off between the two yokozuna – the first time that had happened in 16 years. It was Onosato who came out on top on that occasion.
Hoshoryu says he is a big fan of basketball and football. He follows Chelsea, although his favourite players are going back a bit: “Didier Drogba and Petr Cech. He’s the ‘keeper. I like this guy!”
Early starts and a hearty stew: The life of a rikishi
The wrestlers – or rikishi – have a rigorous training regime.
They live in communal blocks called stables and practice starts early. Perhaps surprisingly, everyone skips breakfast. After training and practice – and for the younger rikishi, chores – the wrestlers all eat together.
The staple of their diet is chankonabe, a hearty stew packed with meat and vegetables. The feeding of the 40 rikishi who have come over for the five-day tournament is a challenge in itself.
Donagh Collins, the CEO of co-organisers Askonas Holt, said: “We are going through 70 kilos of rice a day. Somebody told me that the wholesaler for the noodles has run out of noodles. We’re really pushing the system here.”
The ring – or dohyo – is just 4.55m in diameter and quite small when two giant wrestlers leap at each other.
The aim of the fights is to either get your opponent onto the floor – or, more spectacularly, shove or hurl them out of the dohyo, so spectators in the ringside seats may be getting extremely up-close to the wrestlers.
The last time the tournament was in Britain, the massive Konishiki, known as the Dump Truck, took centre stage.
The giant Hawaiian was the heaviest-ever rikishi coming in at 287kg – or 45 stone. That’s a lot of wrestler to dodge if he comes falling out of the ring towards you.
The Royal Albert Hall may be firstly a concert venue, but it has hosted the likes of John McEnroe, Lennox Lewis and even Muhammad Ali.
And for the next five days, the cream of the world of sumo will be thrilling the crowds – provided a new noodle supplier is found.
What is a yokozuna?
Yokozuna is the highest rank in sumo, with its name meaning “horizontal rope” and refers to the rope worn around a competitor’s waist as they enter the ring.
Grammy-award winning R&B and soul singer D’Angelo has died following a battle with pancreatic cancer, his family has said.
He died on Tuesday, leaving behind a “legacy of extraordinarily moving music” following a “prolonged and courageous battle with cancer,” his family said in a statement.
The prominent musician, born Michael D’Angelo Archer, was 51 years old.
A family statement said: “We are saddened that he can only leave dear memories with his family, but we are eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind.
“We ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time, but invite you all join us in mourning his passing while also celebrating the gift of song that he has left for the world.”
The singer rose to prominence in the 1990s with his first album, Brown Sugar.
The track “Lady” from that album reached No. 10 in March 1996 and remained on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 20 weeks.