THE COMMUNITY PROJECT
The Community Project is at the heart of who Dare to Know Theatre are. When we launched Dare to Know Theatre, we knew we wanted to engage with the general local community. Being born and bred in Oldham, we understand personally experience the struggles people of Oldham face. We wanted to work in a creative manner to invite people into a theatre environment, even if they have never worked creatively before. We set the Ian for us to produce a brand new play with the local community each year, which would always be about Oldham, created and performed by the people of Oldham and performed to an Oldham audience.
Since then, The Community Project has grown far beyond what we ever could've imagined. From working with the community of Oldham just once a year over a couple of months, to now running projects all year round. We're honoured to have worked creatively with hundreds of people of the local community from all walks of life. The Community Project has always invited anyone and everyone to join in, whether they have stepped foot on stage before or are already working in creative industries. Being able to work with so many people from Oldham to bring real voices, real lives and real experiences to the stage, is incredible.
One of our first times working with the community
For members of The Community Project, we pride ourselves on offering them this free opportunity to try something new and connect with others. With everyone involved ranging from the ages of 18 - 72, it is always so beautiful to see the people of Oldham come together to connect over theatre. Getting to welcome The Community Project into rehearsals every week and support everyone getting involved is the highlight of our weeks, and we're always so blown away by the powerful theatre created by the community.
One of our most recent rehearsals with the community
THE CURRENT PROJECT
I Am Oldham
I Am Oldham is a brand new community production we are currently working on with The Community Project, in partnership with Oldham Positive Action Network, and we couldn't be more excited!
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OPAN have collected a rich tapestry of stories and community wisdom by working collaboratively with the people of Oldham to address root causes of poverty, inequality and injustice. The Community Project will now be bringing these real Oldham stories to the stage in a powerful piece of theatre. OPAN's Lived Experience Advisors will be guiding and shaping the process, ensuring the creation of the piece preserves authenticity and reflects what it truly means to live in Oldham today.
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This is taking our mission to bring Oldham voices to life to the next level. Using words directly from Oldham residents with verbatim theatre techniques, this is a piece about identity, struggle, resilience and hope in Oldham today.​
'I Am Oldham' is about more than the data and numbers, it's about the reality of life in Oldham today, and the incredible work that OPAN are doing. Our sole purpose of building this project with and for the people of Oldham is to amplify real voices, real lives and real experiences. You can't measure these with statistics, and you can't use numbers to truly celebrate Oldham's resilience and identity, this is unquantifiable.
WRITTEN BY Jake Talbot & Kat Evans
DIRECTED BY Miranda Parker
PERFORMED BY The Community Project
To Be Perfomed Summer 2026
Ticket Information Available Soon
PREVIOUS PROJECTS
The Oldham Community Advent Calendar 2025
December 2025
Online
Following the success of our first iteration of 25 Days of Oldham, with over 100,000 people tuning in to see what stories our community had dreamed up and created. It's back! 25 brand new micro-plays, 25 brand new stories. Some familiar faces and some brand new faces.
WATCH THEM HERE
Things That Are Meant To Be Good, Are Actually Shit
9th & 10th May 2025
Playhouse 2
Following conversations with community members, our community group got talking about the things in life that people believe are fun, that we felt... weren't.
Secretly, Jake and Kat thought this would make a very interesting play.
The Oldham Community Advent Calendar 2024
December 2024
Online
This year, we wanted to work with The Community Project a little differently, working year round instead of occasionally and inviting everyone, even if they weren't thrilled by the idea of going on stage.
So, our Advent Plays is a result of this! 25 micro plays with 25 days of Oldham stories written, directed, filmed, performed and edited by the people of Oldham, for the people of Oldham.
WATCH THEM HERE
What You Sayin'?
22nd & 23rd July 2024
Playhouse 2
'What You Sayin'?' combines verbatim theatre with tales of family struggles that highlight the impact of social media and language we use online to communities. With relatable characters and intense relationships, the play uses words taken directly from local groups on social media to explore hard-hitting topics creatively.
Leap of Faith
4th October 2022
Oldham Coliseum Theatre
Following the success and pure joy of creating the community play 'One for Sorrow, Two for Joy,' the theatre company and Oldham Community Members returned in 2023 with their latest community play 'Leap of Faith.'
'Leap of Faith' follows Dan, a young lad from Oldham stuck between wanting more from himself and staying in Oldham with his family and friends. The play explores small town mentality and why people stay in their small home town.
One for Sorrow, Two for Joy
22nd & 23rd July 2021
Grange Theatre
In 2021, Dare to Know Theatre presented their first ever community play, 'One for Sorrow, Two for Joy' a story of connection, community and belonging.
Talia, fresh from care is dropped into a new town with basically nothing but the clothes on her back. With a longing to belong, Talia can't quite seem to let go of her past.