Sean, who plays Martin Platt, has performed in many productions at the Oldham Theatre Workshop, which councillors want to shut as part of a '9.6m savings scheme.
Other Street stars who have acted at the venue include Michael Le Vell, (Kevin Webster), Anthony Cotton (Sean Tully) and Suranne Jones (Karen McDonald) who has left the soap.
Anna Friel, Lisa Riley, Casualty actress Sue Devaney and Gemma Wardle from Family Affairs have also performed at the workshop. Hundreds of young people, aged between eight and 25, train at the studios every year.
A campaign has been launched by parents and students in an attempt to convince councillors to keep it open.
Council chiefs say they need to save '9.6m across the borough and scrapping grants for the workshop is one measure being considered.
Sean said: "A short-sighted council is making an already depressed town more depressed as far as teenagers are concerned. Oldham Theatre Workshop provides kids with an opportunity to change their lives and all of a sudden that is being taken away.
"Over the years there have been two constant things about Oldham Theatre Workshop. It has always been under threat but has always provided top class performers for TV films and theatre with complete integrity."
Eddie Latter, a freelance director, is working on the Christmas show.
He said: "Working in a small community I find it amazing just how many people have heard of the workshop and been involved with it at some stage. Families have been writing to us saying how disgusted they are with the decision. The council talks about keeping children off the streets and that is exactly what we are doing."
Assistant director of education and culture Nick Ford said: "Oldham Theatre Workshop is being considered for closure as part of the need for the council to find savings of '9.6 million in order to deliver a balanced budget and a council tax rise of no more than 5 per cent next year." Tweet
Comments
Login or Register to comment
In 2000 I hitchhiked around Britain with a microwave oven.
As a Oldhamer originally, I was shocked to learn of the decision to close our theatre workshop. It was the one thing the people of Britain knew about us, outside of racial riots.
If it wasn't so sad, it'd be funny. They could make it into a stage show. Oh no, wait ....
i love oldham theatre workshop it's the best i attend and it's excellent!
Nick Ford talks about 5% rises in council tax next year but it would be interesting to know the percentage of council tax which is now being spent on race relations in Oldham.
ive heard about this workshop but after searching for hours on the internet i still can not find an address for it, i would appreciate if you could send me the address in an email love steffi x x x
I am in a show with OTW at the moment.I totally disagree with the councils decision.It is a great place to be and the people that work there are amazing.They give up their spare time and give it to us which i think is so great and everyone who is part of it has suck a brill time.It would be such a shame for it to be closed down as it could ruin the careers of many children from the area.I definetly speak on behalf of many people that have something to do with the OTW when i say Please Please Please dont shut it down!!! xxx
Bless the MEN - once again you highlight the needs of Greater Manchester families and the close interconnected areas of Greater Manchester councils.
I know from woking in a high school just down the road from Oldham, how Nick Ford and Sean Wilson have truly empathised with young people around the many areas that the workshop works with. Its absolutely vital that the youth generation in our areas get the oppertunities that ONLY Olham Workshop can offer budding thesbians - whether they make it one day appear on 'Corrie', or not. If we are to endorse what the Government knows works in forging links with kids and adults of all backgrounds, affluence levels and cultures, then only the arts, like the Workshop, can do this. Arts allow vents for young people to exhaust their creative skills and our local generations deserve the chances to mix, learn about different people and do this with an agenda of discovering personal skills that might, and do, lead to them employemtn and careers in TV, journalism and film. With the FANTASTIC resource of ITV Granada and BBC just 'up-the-road', the council owes it to our youth to MAKE the funding work - if Granada can individually completely fund and finance their own (and the FIRST in the private sector) the innovative 'Employability Workshop' giving some young people in our high schools the cance to broarden their horizons on the world of business, film and arts)then it should be a primary priority for the council to get funding from higher authorities, like central governement, to pursue implementing the fantastic resource that has, and can continue to give youngsters and young people their essential experience in theatre and the arts.
Julie Hodgetts
NB. - reducing annual bedding plants for displays and any costly pieces of displayed art and (whilst we all enjoy these), I'm sure this would assist more necessary funding of young peoples proven project that work to blend communities of people and young people together!