Oldham Coliseum Theatre in Greater Manchester has announced it is proposing to close its doors at the end of March.
It said its current financial situation is “not sustainable for the running of a full-time theatre”, and has entered into a consultation period with all staff.
The announcement was made in a statement published on the theatre’s website.
The theatre had put its scheduled pantomime on sale in November and announced the Spring-Summer season in early December, in the hopes of staying afloat.
It had earlier said that it was working with Arts Council England and Oldham Council to honour agreements with artists and producing partners.
The latest statement said: “Following the news on 4 November 2022 that Oldham Coliseum will no longer be part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio from 1 April 2023, the Board of Trustees and Senior Leadership Team have been working hard to find a solution to this reduction in funding. “
The Coliseum said it is working with Arts Council England and Oldham Council to ensure a smooth transition period for the company, including funding to enable support for our workforce and honouring commitments to artists.
All events at the Coliseum until Sunday 26 March are set to go ahead as planned, with ticket holders for all other events set to be refunded “over the coming weeks”.
“The Coliseum would like to thank its audiences, participants, sponsors, partners, funders, patrons, industry colleagues and friends for their support over many years,” it said.
The Coliseum is still being funded by Arts Council England until the end of March through an NPO grant and will then be provided with a transition grant of seven months of funding through to October.
An Arts Council spokesperson said: “We understand this must be a very difficult time and are working to support the company’s board and management who are leading this process.
“Alongside our current funding, which continues until the end of March, we recently agreed transition support of £358,856 to help give the company time and space to make decisions about its future.
“Arts Council England remains committed to Oldham and we’ll be investing £1.845 million in the town so that people don’t miss out on amazing creative activities.
“We’re working closely with Oldham Council on how this significant investment should be used to support the future of performing arts in Oldham and we are fully behind plans for a performing space for the town.”
