Last
night Oldham's new 'Old Town Hall' swung its doors wide to the public
after a grand opening. A local youth performance group told a story
of a young girl called Freya and her granddad... and the Oldham
Giant.
Pretty
moving story in all fairness, and hopefully instilled a sense of
local pride in youngsters today. Our town's been bashed by the
national media for decades now- think the race riots of 2001, the
Panorama investigation into Yorkshire St's nightlife and the violence
that came with it, and of course the Moors Murders. None of that was
mentioned of course, but Freya still felt her options and her future
were limited as she grew up in Oldham. But with the help of her
granddad, and of the introduction of the lumbering papier mache
giant, and a rousing theme tune, Freya begins to believe her town can
be great again- like it was in her granddad's stories.
Impressive
visuals, featuring aerial dancers and surrealist projections onto the
facade of The Old Town Hall. Also decorated with projected images were the buildings opposite the Old Town Hall: The RBS and local coffee shops. After a short speech from Cllr Jean Stretton, MP Jim McMahon cut the
ribbon and the crowds filtered into the renovated 175-year-old Grade
II listed building. I joined the back of the queue and took a look
around- the layout is quite unique with the Costa Coffee looking out
onto Yorkshire St but the entrance to that unit down a corridor. The
Odeon and all their signage has been designed to look modern but also
to contrast against the vintage tiling which has been left exposed.
I'll
drop in over the next few days to get food and a movie.
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