Julie Hesmondhalgh receives Theatres Trust award
Oldham Coliseum's "guest curator", actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, is to receive the first-ever Great British Theatres Lifetime Achievement award from the Theatres Trust.
The award recognises her campaigning for the reopening of the original Coliseum in Oldham's Fairbottom Street, as well as her advocacy for regional theatre and for opportunities for people to work in the sector.
The Olivier award-winning actress and former Coronation Street star continues to play a major role at the Coliseum as it prepares for a long-awaited reopening, working alongside recently appointed theatre chief Nick Bagnall as a guest curator for the reopening season.
The Theatres Trust has launched the Great British Theatres Awards to mark its 50th anniversary, and will hold its ceremony in London on November 2.
Julie said: "I'm honoured to be awarded this inaugural award from the Theatres Trust, celebrating as it does the successful campaign to save Oldham Coliseum. The campaign movement was entirely led by a community that was not willing to see its historic, beloved theatre disappear.
"I'm so proud to have been a small part of the gang that made that happen, and now to be part of the company working hard to get us to the point of reopening and beyond."
Oldham Coliseum CEO Martina Murphy added: "Julie brings extraordinary heart, conviction and generosity to everything she does. She stood alongside the people of Oldham in campaigning for their theatre. This award is richly deserved, and we’re enormously proud to have her as part of our company."
Joshua McTaggart, CEO of the Theatres Trust, said, "The Lifetime Achievement Award will recognise someone who shares our belief that everyone should have access to theatre and live performance. No one in the public eye embodies this spirit more than Julie Hesmondhalgh, who has used her platform as one of the country’s most beloved actors to bang the drum for inclusive and equitable access to the performing arts and community theatres. We are thrilled she is going to accept this award."
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