YOUNG people in Saddleworth and beyond who attend a local theatre group now have the perfect platform for their creative, dramatic and musical work.
The Oldham Theatre Workshop Friends fundraising group has made its first significant donation of £2,000 to the established group.
The group is using a space in Oldham Library as its temporary home during the renovation and refurbishment of its former home at the Old Library – which is part of the newly named ‘Arts Quarter’ currently under way.
The young people who attend Oldham Theatre Workshop – currently around 300 kids every week from Oldham and the surrounding area – were thrilled when they arrived to find a new black vinyl floor had been fitted at the space.
James Atherton, Artistic Director at Oldham Theatre Workshop, thanked the team for raising the funds and donating them to help improve the young people’s experience.
He explained: “We moved into Oldham Library just after Christmas and the studio we are in temporarily there will serve us well until the new permanent home for OTW is completed, but the flooring wasn’t ideal and didn’t provide our groups with the right kind of environment in which to create and perform.
“Thanks to the Friends’ generous donation we have been able to purchase a durable performance floor which has a slip resistant surface, and which is going to be fantastic for improving the space we are working in.”
The fundraising team held several events over the last 12 months to raise the funds, selling refreshments at productions during the interval and also through kind donations received from others holding sponsored events.
Kate Palmer, spokesperson for the Friends of Oldham Theatre Workshop, said: “We are thrilled to be able to make this donation to OTW and it’s a real milestone in terms of where we are in our fundraising journey.
“Our small team of members is growing gradually, and with an ever increasing fundraising target we are committed to delivering more funds this year.
“Every child who attends OTW gets so much out of it, and we really want to help support that provision, ensuring the fantastic work they do is available to all young people, particularly during these difficult economic times.”
The friends group is looking for more people to get involved and become members. For more information, visit https://oldhamtheatreworkshop.co.uk/friends/
There’s absolutely no reason why they couldn’t continue to use the existing performance space in the Library, (which is what it was designed for,) without the need to use a new theater than Oldham neither need nor wants.
Good luck to them anyway.