Play mines a rich vein of Plater wit
Monday, June 18, 2012
Close The Coalhouse Door, by the Hull-raised dramatist Alan Plater, attracted busloads of miners when it was first staged in the 1960s.
The initial run – telling of the history of mining in the North East – was extended five times at its Newcastle run to cope with the numbers of visiting pitmen.
Given that heritage, it is little wonder director Samuel West felt a nagging concern when he began casting for this production.
"I was apprehensive," Samuel said. "Finding people to populate a play with a strong sense of place and music at its heart was always going to involve a big search.
"The shopping list of skills we needed was long: native or convincing Geordies who can sing, move, tour and play at least one musical instrument."
Most important, Samuel said, was to find those with the "talent and the wit" to serve the words of Alan Plater and Sid Chaplin – whose stories inspired the play.
He needn't have worried: "People came in with songs and speeches that showed they had this play in their blood."
The musical play – co-produced by Live Theatre and Northern Stage – is being performed at York Theatre Royal next week.
Featuring songs by Alex Glasgow, inspired by the folk music of the North East, the drama charts the major strikes, victories and disappointments in British mining history from the formation of the first unions in 1831.
Previous revivals had been updated by Alan, who was born in Tyneside. After his death in 2010, Billy Elliott writer Lee Hall took over, including references to the miners' strike of 1984-85 for this latest production.
In a published edition of the play, Alan described it as a "hymn of unqualified praise to the miners". He wrote: "If, today, the hymn is more in the nature of an elegy, it is a strain that haunts the dreams of everyone with roots in the North East."
Hull and East Riding
The initial run – telling of the history of mining in the North East – was extended five times at its Newcastle run to cope with the numbers of visiting pitmen.
Given that heritage, it is little wonder director Samuel West felt a nagging concern when he began casting for this production.
"I was apprehensive," Samuel said. "Finding people to populate a play with a strong sense of place and music at its heart was always going to involve a big search.
"The shopping list of skills we needed was long: native or convincing Geordies who can sing, move, tour and play at least one musical instrument."
Most important, Samuel said, was to find those with the "talent and the wit" to serve the words of Alan Plater and Sid Chaplin – whose stories inspired the play.
He needn't have worried: "People came in with songs and speeches that showed they had this play in their blood."
The musical play – co-produced by Live Theatre and Northern Stage – is being performed at York Theatre Royal next week.
Featuring songs by Alex Glasgow, inspired by the folk music of the North East, the drama charts the major strikes, victories and disappointments in British mining history from the formation of the first unions in 1831.
Previous revivals had been updated by Alan, who was born in Tyneside. After his death in 2010, Billy Elliott writer Lee Hall took over, including references to the miners' strike of 1984-85 for this latest production.
In a published edition of the play, Alan described it as a "hymn of unqualified praise to the miners". He wrote: "If, today, the hymn is more in the nature of an elegy, it is a strain that haunts the dreams of everyone with roots in the North East."
Hull and East Riding
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