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OPAC Festival Brings Oldham’s Next Generation to the Spotlight
Oldham Coliseum Theatre and Oldham Theatre Workshop are delighted to announce the return of the OPAC Youth Theatre Festival in February 2027.
Following a successful pilot year that brought together more than 100 young people from schools and educational settings across Oldham, the festival returns with new creative commissions, new partnerships and an even stronger commitment to young people's creative voices.
The Festival is developed through the Oldham Performing Arts Collective (OPAC), a collaboration between Oldham Coliseum and Oldham Theatre Workshop. It aims to create opportunities for young people to make theatre, share stories and experience the excitement of performance or participating back stage.
This year, the festival welcomes newly commissioned writers Caitlin O’Ryan and Chris Hoyle, who will work with local young people and Oldham schools to develop original pieces inspired by their experiences, ideas and imaginations. A core element of the Festival is to enable young people to shape the stories that will be performed, and to ensure the performance reflects their thoughts, interests and experiences.
Schools will be able to choose between a 25–30 minute scripted play, accompanied by directing support materials, or a poetry cycle designed as a stimulus for devising an original performance.
Last year’s participants spoke about meeting new people, developing characters and enjoying the creative freedom the festival offered. Teachers also reflected on the impact of the experience, describing a welcoming environment where “everyone felt equal and welcome” and a festival team that was “second-to-none”. Several spoke about the excitement the performances generated, with one teacher saying, “The students loved it… they’re still talking about it.” For some young people, the festival provided a rare opportunity to experience a professional theatre environment, making the week feel, in the words of one teacher, “a wonderful process” from beginning to end.
Alongside the performances, participating schools will receive support from artists, theatre-makers and the teams at Oldham Coliseum Theatre and Oldham Theatre Workshop, reinforcing a shared commitment to creative education and cultural opportunity across the borough.
OPAC Youth Theatre Festival is becoming an important part of the town’s cultural landscape – championing young voices, celebrating imagination and creating spaces where theatre belongs to everyone.
The 2027 OPAC Youth Theatre Festival will take place from 8–12 February 2027.
Click here to find out more about our Teacher’s Network and for information on how your school can get involved.
Photo credit: Shay Rowan
