Really saddened to here of the loss of such a great space, to which i owe everything.
20 years ago the wonderful Steve Curtis allowed me the privilege of working for him at the green room and i will never forget being given that chance. the green room was the birth of the arts for me, its death makes me feel exactly that.
this decision just shows the idiocy of ACE and how they do not understand the arts
Submitted by Martin Adams
Some the best events i ever promoted were at The Green Room inc The first Legendary Manchester Busker…april 1988 to my last event there in dec 2009…i’d like to thank all the staff at this great venue…no where else like it.
Submitted by Chris Coupe
I was on the board of the greenroom when the original letter from arts council arrived warning of impending doom (3 years ago???). I was too raw from the hugely unpleasant experience of the ‘death’ of doo-cot in 2007 (we were all made ‘redundant’), to be able to give my full support to the greenroom & sadly I left the board. I couldn’t face a second stressful time - trying to talk sense where there is NONSENCE!
I offer my huge sympathy to all the staff at greenroom who have worked with such conviction. I trust the present board of director’s focus is on the effect on staff and are acting not out of fear but out of compassion to the employees.
And what of the artists? What a legacy the green room has created and now we artists are left bereft. These bloody cuts – destroying roots and leaving the soil unfertile. Artists have the last laugh always - as our work is in our blood, cut cut cut away as you will - Sticks and Stones may break our bones but cuts will never kill us!!!!!!
Watch this space!
Submitted by NenAGH
I am speechless and my heart is heavy. This is such a blow for the North West! Everyone who works at greenroom is marvellous and it is a venue that has supported independent, small scale and experimental artists as well as graduate students and the wider community for years. I am deeply, deeply affected by the news of its closure. This is such sad news. The closure of greenroom is unjust.
Submitted by Manny Emslie
We were terribly saddened today by the news that greenroom will be forced to close after losing it’s Arts Council funding.
Larkin About was first formed at greenroom and, as they have for so many other artists, greenroom guided us through our early years with invaluable advice and support. We have staged events here that would never have got off the ground at other venues and have been inspired by the vibrancy of the work this great institution has allowed us to experience. The chats and encounters in the bar, the back up of a simply legendary technical team, the wealth of experience to call on from the staff and above all the way this place makes you feel that you can achieve things no other venue would even consider have made greenroom a very special place to a great number of people.
greenroom has inspired us and has been our home.
The important thing now is to ensure that the work greenroom has allowed to happen continues, that the people and artists who have an association with greenroom do not let this loss kill us all. Right now we feel the least we can do is help ensure greenroom has an artistic legacy that lasts for decades, for generations even. We wont be alone in this as so many great artists and companies from Manchester and across the country have called this place home.
We will keep making work, we will continue to grow and we will remember where we came from.
Submitted by Larkin’ About
greenroom as place is as complex as any human being I know.
Hearing this news was like hearing the death of a relation.
I have been fortunate enough to do everything it is possible to do in a building and I mean everything.
As I approach 50 I am fortunate enough to have 25 years of full, rich, deep, hilarious, painful, loving, tender, positive, inspiring, memories.
As with every death it is our memories we should be celebrating and head to a wake that enables all to remember a very dear relation.
Much love ~ Michael Mayhew x
Submitted by Michael Mayhew
We were terribly saddened today by the news that greenroom will be forced to close after losing its Arts Council funding.
Larkin About was first formed at greenroom and, as they have for so many other artists, greenroom guided us through our early years with invaluable advice and support. We have staged events here that would never have got off the ground at other venues and have been inspired by the vibrancy of the work this great institution has allowed us to experience. The chats and encounters in the bar, the back up of a simply legendary technical team, the wealth of experience to call on from the staff and above all the way this place makes you feel that you can achieve things no other venue would even consider have made greenroom a very special place to a great number of people.
greenroom has inspired us and has been our home.
The important thing now is to ensure that the work greenroom has allowed to happen continues, that the people and artists who have an association with greenroom do not let this loss kill us all. Right now we feel the least we can do is help ensure greenroom has an artistic legacy that lasts for decades, for generations even. We wont be alone in this as so many great artists and companies from Manchester and across the country have called this place home.
We will keep making work, we will continue to grow and we will remember where we came from.
Submitted by Larkin’ About
That’s a great shame, I hope all the people who work at the green room and the many more supported all the very best. Please keep some sort of forum going so that even if the venue no longer exists we can still hunt out something just that little bit experimental. Good luck.
Submitted by Gareth Wain
Am genuinely gutted to hear this news. The Greenroom gave so many of us a start in our theatrical working lives. I never came across any other venue so open to letting people have a go, so helpful and understanding of our mistakes and so supportive of our triumphs. I can honestly say I would never have had the successful career I’ve had without the Greenroom’s training and encouragement in the early years. That kind of ethos & commitment to people will not easily be replaced. I’m so sorry tonight.
Submitted by Kath Geraghty
I have had the honour of visiting greenroom both as an audience member and as a promoter, and the experience from both sides has been unforgettable. Greenroom was, is, and will always be a truly unique space, run by passionate and caring staff who made everyone feel welcome, valued and special.
Manchester has lost a core park of its cultural landscape today, and there will never be another place quite like Greenroom.
Greenroom will never, ever be forgotten.
Submitted by Simon Webbon
20 years ago, to a kid bunking off school to hear Nick Cave read, greenroom was the most inspiring, eye-opening, horizon-expanding place I’d ever been. It still is. Thank you, greenroom, for giving me my first gig; thank you for giving a home to my stories; thank you for introducing me to so much unforgettable art; thank you for the artists you unleashed on the world… and sorry you’re still cleaning up all the glitter I left everywhere. Thank you, greenroom. I just don’t know what Manchester is going to do without you.
Submitted by g.j.hilton
Huge loss for Manchester! I am really sorry to hear about this very sad news. Is there anything we can do about it?
Submitted by Roxanna Allinson
I can’t believe I’ve read this news this morning. I played they Green Room on many occasions (with Fonik, Noise Club et al) and thought it was a marvelous set up all round. Its Thatcher all over again and a country run by noxious public school boys with no concept of reality. I know of similar stories from elsewhere in the country (The Lanternhouse in Ulverston lost all Arts Council funding). They still manage to fund 2 illegal (oil) wars though.
My best wishes to all the staff I met at the Green Room over the last few years. Ian Simpson (musician)
Submitted by Ian Simpson
I am shocked and extremely saddened by the bad bad news that the GREENROOM has to close its doors.
When I came for the first time in 1989 from Germany to Manchester my very first contact with Manchester’s creative scene happened at the Greenroom. Since then in the course of 11 years I moved emotionally closer and closer to this region and in 2000 I finally relocated to become a Manchunian. In all those years the Greenroom was a fixture in my cultural and social life. I still don’t want to believe that it’s all over now and deep within me I dare to hope that one day the Greenroom can open up its doors again and continue the good work.
To let an organization down in this harsh way after 28 years of excellent work is beyond belief to me.
Submitted by Klaus-dieter Michel
not sure how i can replace what Green Room Arts - Manchester gives me and given me over the last 10 years, my best friends, many of my first performances as poet priest and waffler, first job i blagged, a job even with the akwardness of a fickle body that let me have a social life and a social world, late nights i only half remember, shows that gave and urged me. THANK YOU x
Submitted by Conor A
Just heard the news. So sorry; this will be a massive loss to Manchester. You’ve meant so much to so many people, given opportunities so many art lovers and practitioners. Everyone at Blank Media Collective wants to show their support, and wishes you well for the future.
Submitted by Kevin Bradshaw
This is a really sad day, not just for Manchester (which it certainly is), but for the wider arts community of the UK. So many incredibly gifted practitioners have passed through the doors of the Green Room. Even in the depths of Devon, we’re mourning.
Love to all.
Bob & Lee
Submitted by Lee Miller
I only got over once in a while from Leeds but Green Room has been a reliably good place to visit and, famed across the north of England for the diversity of work shown there, will be sadly missed on this side on the Pennines also. A graceful but very regrettable exuent stage left. Best of luck to all who sailed in her.
Submitted by Paul Fallon
On behalf of Drunken Chorus, and the artists who have worked with us since we started out in 2006, I’d like to say how deeply sorry we all are that greenroom will be closing in May. The venue was instrumental in the development of Drunken Chorus, as well as providing us personally with skills and experience that have proved vital in our individual careers. It would feel almost selfish to be so devastated about the loss, if it were not for the countless other artists and companies, past, present and future, who will be so profoundly affected by greenroom’s closure. I do not think any of us can even began to imagine the North-West arts scene without greenroom. I can only think that it will be a much less rich and varied cultural landscape without this supportive, exciting and iconic venue. Let’s hope that the legacy lives on, long after the building closes.
RIP greenroom
x
Submitted by Drunken Chris
I’m also deeply saddened by this news. The Green Room has supported my friend’s performance company and my debut public performance after university was at The Green Room. The staff are amazing and the innovative work shown/creative vision of The Green Room has always been filling a gap in Manchester’s Art/Performance scene. Truly gutted and really hope that it can secure funding soon to maybe reopen. Good luck to all the artists and staff.
Submitted by Lucy Berry
You have always done a great job in Manchester. Greenroom will be missed!!!
Submitted by Antonio Benitez
So sorry Greenroom has fallen victim to ConDem cuts - you helped keep experimental independent/underground film alive in the North as well as everything else you did and it’s a great venue. I’ll be writing to my (Tory) MP protesting against this cut and supporting UK Uncut against all the other stupid, mean, unnecessary cuts that this government is planning.
Submitted by Jenny Shepherd
To all our friends and colleagues at green room, its simple. I just dont want you to go. It was in this damp dirty railway arch that approximately 20 years ago, i first suspected there might be an alternative way to make theatre. A kind of theatre where people didnt just pretend to be someone else. It was in your bar, that I built life-long friendships, learned important lessons, forged loyalties and struggled to my professional feet. You first introduced me to ron athey, forkbeard fantasy, dv8, forced entertainment (in a typical mash-up of tastes and styles). And in only the last few weeks I witnessed an event that I dont think will now happen anywhere else in the UK. A 24 hour performance lock-in in which 18 artists worked with staff and crew to make a new work over endless sleepless hours. 70 or so people turned up to witness what had unfolded. They knew not what to expect but they didnt really care. They just bought into the potential of what might happen if you put artists together behind a locked door. This invitation shows an important trust in the artist, and is a signature greenroom act, a kind of open-hearted provocation that is all too rare in the UK. And so, as the announcement that green room will close hits us, it is clear we lose an important ethos and attitude, a community and as you say, a home. Manchester just will not be the same without you x
Submitted by Helen Cole
Many have people have said things far more eloquently than I ever could. So i’ll just say thank you. Thank you for being an outlet for me to dress up and dance about in the name of art, thank you for all the support to some very good friends of mine, thank you for being an outlet of creative foolery for this fine city, oh and thank you for being a place to have a nice beer on the numerous occasions I’ve been stood up. I believe you may even have had some of my artwork on the walls at some point, but I was in London at the time.
Submitted by Andrew Adshead
Since I can remember (since I arrived in this country as a young dance graduate from Portugal) The Greenroom has been at the forefront of presenting exiting and experimental work…
I feel a mixture of sadness and incredulity at how this decision could be????
Submitted by Rita Marcalo (Instant Dissidence)
one by one, divided we fall
thanks for everything greenroom, it was luvly to be there at your birth, you were beautiful :-) xx
Submitted by Darren Poyzer
How can Manchester City Council invest a fortune in the Cornerhouse - which is just a cinema - and let greenroom, which is so much more important as a performance venue, go under? When the Cornerhouse move the hole in Oxford Road will be devastating. I know that ACE are the cause of this not MCC but Manchester isn’t half so culturally significant as it likes to think it is and the loss of greenroom is a tragedy for the arts in our city.
My thoughts are with the wonderful greenroom staff.
Submitted by Peter Jacobs
I’m absolutely gutted that greenroom is having to close. I only got to know the place a couple of years ago through uni but since then I have grown to love the place and it was somewhere I was hoping to have in my life for many years to come. My placement there at the beginning of the year was wonderful and I enjoyed every minute of it and its heartbreaking to know that there will be so many people that won’t have the opportunity to experience such a brilliant venue. The Manchester scene will not be the same again.
Submitted by Becca Vafeas
Absolutely gutted to hear about the greenroom having to close it’s doors forever. I did my first ever gig there and if it wasn’t for the opportuinities which the greenroom provided to me I seriously doubt that I would be performing anything at all today.
I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has been involved with the greenroom over the years.
There will never be another like it.
Submitted by Kieren King
Another day,another tragedy - where will this all stop? We’re so sorry to be losing you, but know that you are leaving behind many fond memories of great gigs.
Submitted by Ralph Young
What a shame. I’ve only just found greenroom in the last 9 months or so and I seem to have missed the boat. The valued artistic support from all there will be sorely missed in this current tough climate. I hope it’ll be able to return in the future.
Submitted by Clair Graubner
Very sad to hear that greenroom will be closing down. It still hasn’t sunk in yet. Greenroom is a place that so many artists like myself have received much support and encouragement when experimenting and creating new performance work. One of the things that has always struck me about greenroom is how supportive the venue team are and how much they believe in the work that is being produced.
All I can say now is thank you greenroom, you will be missed.
Submitted by Jamie Fletcher
While this news is especially devastating to those local to the greenroom, the incredibly well-informed and passionate staff who work there and those artists who may call it home, I am also aware that the impact will reach far beyond the walls of the building itself.
The greenroom is not my local venue, I live in Leeds, but I am aware just how many touring companies and artists carry the name of the greenroom on their print as they tour the country (and beyond). I am also aware how many of my friends and colleagues regularly travel to the venue from Leeds in order to see their peers perform. To them, this loss must be especially hard to imagine. And you have to wonder how many shows will not get made and how many companies will not get the vital early support they need to flourish once the greenroom is no more?
Of all the decisions taken by the Arts Council, my own home venue Leeds Met Gallery & Studio Theatre having also lost out on their funding, this seems the most ill-informed and potentially damaging of them all.
Submitted by Jaye Kearney
Shock and disbelieve is my immediate reaction. How can such a popular, successful Manchester landmark be allowed to close let alone forced to.
Submitted by Brigid Smart
Love to the Greenroom and everyone there…and hoping that alternative funding does come forward so that this fantastic and unique opportunity for creativity can continue. Having only recently moved to Manchester I have had a taste of greenroom, through my involvement with The Art of Conversation project,and can’t believe that 2 weeks after our performance the doors will close.
Submitted by Karen Little
Love to the greenroom and everyone there. I cannot believe such a fantasic and unique opportunity for creativity is being tossed aside , and really hope that alternative funding comes forward. Having only recently moved to Manchester I have had a taste of greenroom through being involved in the Art of Conversation project…it has been so rewarding and it is insane that the doors will close only 2 weeks after our performance…
Submitted by Karen Little
such a sad piece of news in addition to the shock of the funding cut that you had. Over the last years I have had the opportunity to perform many times at the greenroom in very different types of events: these have been so typical of the wide ranging approaches that the greenroom has nurtured. If it wasnt like that I would not of neccesarily been exposed to other opportunities.
I will miss your efforts and hope that the partner organisations can take on the roles that you have pushed over the last 25 years, it wont be the same though.
Again thanks, and especially to the team who delivered it all. Steve Curtis is a pillar to the work, thank you mate!
Submitted by Ben Gwilliam
Having been involved with the Green Room from it’s inception many years ago and knowing how incredibly important this place and it’s people have been to the art’s in Manchester and beyond, It is beyond me that this madness can happen. Is ther no way we can all get together and stop the closure?
Submitted by Lesley Martin- Environmental Artist
I can’t believe that funding alone kept the greenroom open twenty odd years, surely it was economically viable and made a profit? If so surely it could continue to run?
Submitted by Dave
It is a travesty that greenroom is forced to close given all that it has and does contribute to the contemporary performance culture and community in Manchester. As well as providing forums and invaluable support for emerging artists (and doing this long before other venues in Manchester began to provide new performance platforms) greenroom has also nurtured a community of practitioners where students of performance, recent graduates and early career artists can network, share ideas and collaborate with each other. For us on the Contemporary Theatre degree at Salford University (staff and students) the greenroom will be sorely missed and we’d like to thank all the staff for the work they have put in to building this community during the last 25 years - we only hope to find a new home as supportive and welcoming as this one is.
Submitted by Tracy Crossley
Greenroom didn’t simply put on work that already had audiences. It created new work. It created new audiences.
Any thriving city needs a bustling, vibrant arts scene to match. Both the mainstream and less conventional venues are equally important in terms of offering patrons a choice, and opening up avenues for artists to develop in.
Greenroom really did have an “open door” policy which I benefited from myself. It pushed the boundaries of performance and worked with local artists too, creating something unique and vital. It was the sort of venue that upon discovering, really drew you in because at a night at the Greenroom literally anything could happen!
It is such a shame that it is closing. I wonder especially where audiences will go now, because there is a real thirst to see this kind of work. Friday nights are going to be a lot duller from now on….
Goodbye Greenroom. You will be missed. The best of luck to all your dedicated staff.
Submitted by Jessica Lee
So sorry it had to come to this; if ACE and the Government have a conscience, it should be bothering them right now.
My thoughts are with the staff at greenroom who have worked so hard to give artists opportunities there over many years. Good luck to all of you for the future.
I’m so sorry to hear about the decision to close the greenroom. The first exhibition I was part of was there, and I found the staff really supportive, helpful and enthusiastic and wish them all well in whatever they do in the future. It’s such a shame that such a diverse space, offering theatre, music, visual art and spoken word will cease to exist…
Submitted by David Morris
Absolutely devastating news, and I know I speak for the many many artists of Green Bohemia and all the punters who supported the night and the venue so enthusiatically when I say that this is an absolutely heart-breaking situation.
However I would also like to thank the Green Room staff for creating a venue second to none in its atmosphere, attention to every detail, and the way in which it looked after and cared about EVERYONE who came through the door, artists, promters and public alike.
In all my time as a promoter in Manchester I have never known a place like it, and truly feel like I have lost my home; and that Manchester’s music and arts scene has lost something un-replaceable. Thoughts and best wishes to all at Green Room xxx
Submitted by Stuart Avery
Indeed it is an awful thing that greenroom is having its funding snatched, as are many other valuable organisations. I have done squillions of shows there myself, including several full length premieres, which i think few other venues would have considered.
In the interests of adding some variety to this strand, I would like to point out that the real villains of the piece are not the arts council, however hamfisted their implementation of the cuts may seem; but the heartless confederacy of mediocrities currently in power over this country. If we learn anything from this current situation, it might be that the Liberal democrats are in their hearts closer to the Tories than many of their voters realised. May this never be forgotten again!
Artists- and also anyone who values the national health service, multi-culturalism, or a decent days pay- should take these kind of horrible cuts as a call to arms. The last time Britain had a tory government, it also had a thriving and vibrant counterculture fighting against it. These Tories are worse than the last lot. Lets make the counterculture, even better.
Tam
Submitted by Tam Hinton
Very sorry to hear the news. Greenroom will be sadly missed x
Submitted by Kate Charlton
Today is a very sad day for Manchester. I am so incredibly upset about this news.
Since the first day of Blank Media Collective’s relationship with greenroom they have been a tower of strength to us both as an organisation and on a personal level. I will always attribute a lot of our success to the belief that they showed in us and the unfaltering support they gave.
greenroom is the warmest, most welcoming space I have been to in Manchester. Every time I step into the building I feel at home. greenroom has been an inspiration to me on so many levels and I will miss you so much.
My thoughts are with all the wonderful staff now during what I am sure will be a difficult time.
x
Published by Mark Devereux
As a Manchester based actor and regular audience member I am appalled that the Greenroom is having to close. Utterly appalled. It was always a place for new work and often where actors starting out in the business could cut their teeth. Small scale touring has lost another great venue.
Submitted by Caroline Woodruff
greenroom has played such an important role in mine and so may other people’s lives. Absolutely gutted. Best wishes go out to all staff and partners.
Submitted by Gareth Bibby
