The Pitmen Painters
By special permission of Lee Hall
(Production Photographs by Jim Mohan)
In 1934, a group of Ashington miners hired a professor to teach an art appreciation evening class. Most of the men had started down the pit around the age of 12 and none of them had been inside an art gallery. The group abandoned theory in favour of practice and the pitmen began to paint. They painted ponies hauling coal, women pumping water for washday, men showing off whippets - in the process turning their lives into art.
From the author of Billy Elliott and Cooking with Elvis, The Pitmen Painters draws on the lively and humorous book of the same name by William Feaver. The play explores art, society and politics raising the question: why do the arts seem to belong to a privileged few and what makes others feel excluded?
With sell-out runs at Live Theatre and The National, plus a hugely successful UK tour, The Pitmen Painters was most recently getting rave reviews on Broadway.
For the Newcastle Journal review of this production, click here
When you've seen the play, why not go to Woodhorn to see the original paintings? For more information, visit their website: http://www.experiencewoodhorn.com/
| Cast | |
| George Brown | Harry Gilbert |
| Oliver Kilbourn | Pete McAndrew |
| Jimmy Floyd | Steven Robertson |
| Young Lad/Ben Nicholson | Steven Wallace |
| Harry Wilson | Mike Smith |
| Robert Lyon | Matthew Cummins |
| Helen Sutherland | Val Russell |
| Susan Parks | Grace Robson |
| Musicians | Dave Kendall, Jed Sanderson, Tom Rushton & the Ashington Colliery Band |
| Production Team | |
| Director | Chris Heckels |
| Assistant Director | Eileen Davidson |
| Art Advisor/Assist Director | Kath Gilbert |
| Stage Manager | Lesley Thompson |
| ASM | Christine Williams |
| DSM | Rye Mattick |
| Rehearsal Prompt | Catherine Edwards |
| Design & Technical | |
| Stage Design | Derrick Nellist |
| Lighting Design | Richard Flood |
| Projections | Tom Saunders |
| Sound | Richard Davidson |
| Props | Cathrine Moore, Laura Whittaker |
| Wardrobe | Linda Girling, Margie Cook |
| Set Painting & Banner | Jane Slater |
| Set Building | Jimmy Walkinshaw |
| Lighting Operator | Dave Harvey |
| Projections Operator | Stuart Laidler |
