Oldham Coliseum at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Oldham
afshan d’souza-lodhi’s play, commissioned to celebrate the saved-from-closure Coliseum, fails to rise to the occasion

Seven months after the Oldham Coliseum’s miraculous rescue from closure, after a campaign fronted by actor Julie Hesmondhalgh, it has invited audiences to a party. A celebratory atmosphere greets this comeback show at the nearby Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Coliseum’s temporary home until it reopens for panto season. Seated at cabaret-style tables, we’re here for an engagement party. But this production flatly fails to engage.

It starts as it means to go on. After a punishingly long period of awkward stalling, groom-to-be Zack reports that fiancee Sofia has got cold feet. While we wait for her to come round, three “elders”, who narrate and manipulate the drama like the sprites from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, rewind to the couple’s first meeting in Oldham.

afshan d’souza-lodhi’s skimpy plot withholds information and plot development to the final stages, including the reason for Sofia’s doubt, leaving the first half to plug the vacuum with laborious audience participation. Hesmondhalgh is even parachuted in via video, with a cloying speech about love conquering all.

Lines sound plucked from the cheesiest wedding speeches. One character reflects: “What changed? I found love.” Another opines: “Don’t listen to the same song on repeat; sometimes you’ve got to hit shuffle.” The script meanders through fate, family and legacy like a best man trying to lend his speech profound emotional ballast.

Despite posing as a love letter to Oldham, and using a local community cast to stand in for wedding guests, the only sense of place comes from references to the town’s chicken shops. The couple’s attachment to the town is consequently unclear, although Connor Darren-James and Marucia Ferreira’s naivety is endearing.

Equally rudderless is Amanda Huxtable’s direction, which relies on freeze frames and slo-mo. Intermittent pop love songs are soulfully performed by Zee Mehdizadeh and a live band in one corner, but leave the audience exchanging awkward glances across the tables. Not a day to remember.

The Engagement Party is at Oldham Coliseum at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Oldham until 22 February