Oldham Coliseum’s acclaimed production of The Hired Man goes online

Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and Hull Truck Theatre are streaming their acclaimed 2019 revival of musical The Hired Man to raise vital funds for current and future creative projects.

Based on the 1969 novel by Melvyn Bragg, The Hired Man. Set in Cumbria during the first quarter of the 20th century against a backdrop of working class rural and industrial life and the first World War, it tells the story of Bragg’s grandparents’ and their journey from land labourers to colliers and back to the land.

The novel was adapted for the stage as a musical in 1984 by Grammy award-winning composer, Howard Goodall, whose other musicals include Bend it Like Beckham and Love Story.

It was Goodall’s first professional musical, featuring a superb score of rousing foot stomping rhythms and soaring choruses, inspired by English choral and folk music.

In 1984, during its West End run, The Hired Man was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for Best Musical, earned four Olivier Award nominations, and was voted Best Musical of the Year by the critics of Time Out, The Guardian, Punch & The Stage.

The 2019 actor-musician revival played to packed audiences and also received national critical acclaim across the country, securing three Offie Award nominations with Lauryn Redding a finalist for Best Female Performance in a Musical for her role as Emily.

Together, the three theatres reach over 380,000 people a year through their live productions while their theatres are closed to the public. to raise vital funds for current and future creative projects.

This much loved actor-musician revival played to national critical acclaim across the country, securing three Offie Award nominations including finalist Lauryn Redding as a finalist for Best Female Performance in a Musical for her role as Emily.

With the support of The Really Useful Group Ltd, the premiere streaming of The Hired Man will take place on Monday 15 June 2020 at 7.30pm, and will then be available for one week on the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch YouTube channel and via each of three theatres’ websites until midnight on Sunday 21 June.

Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and Hull Truck Theatre together reach more than 380,000 people a year through their live productions. And while their doors are sadly closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the theatres still in need of vital funds for current and future creative projects. Online viewers are being asked to donate what they can to help ensure the venues can survive in these difficult times.

In its 135-year history the Oldham Coliseum has closed only once before. Established as a circus in 1885, the Coliseum – then the Colosseum – opened on Henshaw Street before moving to its current spot on Fairfield Street in 1903 where it ran as a popular theatre and music hall, until in 1931 the venue was converted into a cinema, closing nine months later. It was reopened in 1939 by the Oldham Repertory Theatre Club, and during World War II hosted celebrated London companies Saddler’s Wells Opera and the Old Vic.

Visit the Oldham Coliseum website for more details on how to donate.