Visitors at Oldham Coliseum

Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor
Visitors at Oldham Coliseum
Joel Chester Fildes

Visitors at Oldham Coliseum, Manchester 18 April — 4 May 2019 Tickets from £17.00 — Book now

Following the huge success of 2017 production of The Father, Oldham Coliseum will revisit the urgent topic of dementia in Visitors, Barney Norris’ first full-length work for the stage.

Norris’ first full-length play, Visitors shines a light on an elderly couple’s last few weeks together on the farm where they have lived for most of their lives. With a focus on ageing and care, rural life in England right now, and the fractures and distance between families, Visitors is a funny, tender and warm-hearted hymn to life-long love.

In a rural farmhouse at the edge of Salisbury Plain, a married couple, Arthur and Edie, are slowly crumbling. While Edie is presenting with all of the signs of dementia, Arthur, although robust and brave, is prone to falling down. Their son, Stephen cannot afford to put his mother into care and Arthur cannot afford to stop working and look after his wife.

When a young stranger with blue hair moves in to provide care for Edie, the whole family are compelled to question their future together, and who gets to choose how they live their lives.

Norris’ Visitors premiered in 2014 at The Arcola Theatre, London and won the Critics Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright and Best New Play at the Off West End Theatre Awards. Norris was also nominated for the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Best New Play Award and the Evening Standard Theatre Awards Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright.

Mature and tender, Visitors tackles issues around dementia and social care that will resonate with many people. What makes Norris’ play so special is that it succeeds in tackling a difficult subject, like dementia, with sensitivity and just the right amount of comedy. Ultimately, this deeply moving production is a sensitive tribute to married love and the beauty that shines through in a sense of shared past.

Where to go near Visitors at Oldham Coliseum

Gallery Oldham, in Oldham Cultural Quarter
Manchester
Museum
Gallery Oldham

Gallery Oldham provides a wide range of exhibitions and activities targeted at different audiences of all ages within Oldham and the surrounding area.

The Yoga Seed Oldham
Manchester
The Yoga Seed Oldham

The Yoga Seed is an intimate studio just outside of Oldham town centre. Run by Sharon it offers small classes including a men only class.

Photo of Stonerig Raceway tracks from above
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Tourist Attraction
Stonerig Raceway

Stonerig Raceway in Oldham has seven Scalextric tracks – making for a very unusual day out in Manchester.

Liverpool
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Epic Apart Hotel

The Epic Apart Hotel offers 14 serviced apartments – and is bang-slap in the middle of the Ropewalks district, right behind FACT.

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Middleton Arena

The Arena has a regular programme of arts and entertainment including live music, concerts, comedy and dances with stage shows and national tours. With two licensed bars this is the perfect location for a great night out.

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