Brassed Off

The devastation and heartache suffered by many in the mining communities during the period of the Miners Strike in the 1980’s and the effect it had on family life, is difficult to understand and comprehend  unless  you lived  through, or were touched  by it.  Yes of course there is another side to the argument but this play, from the screenplay by Mark Herman,  gives a stark portrayal of what  life was like at that time. It tells the story of the miners, wives, girlfriends  children and band members in the imaginary Yorkshire village of Grimley as they battled to keep their colliery open and the brass band from disbanding. How fitting it was that this production was staged by Murton Theatre Group whose own village life was affected in much the same way.

Seen through the eyes and memories of Shane (Harris Miller) it recounts how he remembers the actions and events of his 9 year old self and in particular his relationship with his Granddad  Danny the Bandleader (Malcolm Quinn)

With 11 musical numbers and 42 scenes  it must have been a nightmare to produce and set and a lot of credit is due to the Director and the cast and the Brass  Band themselves for dealing with it so well and pulling it off.  Because of this the continuity suffered and the pace slowed leaving gaps between scenes. The night of my visit there were sound and microphone problems and crucially one of these happened in the most poignant of moments,  at the end of the show, when Shane is talking to his dead granddad  over music from the band.

As for the cast they must have had empathy with how life was like for them at that time as they gave it every ounce of feeling they had for the subject. Harris, as Shane, is a star in the making, Malcolm, as Danny, was excellent and brought his vast experience to the role, whilst we also had fine supporting roles from Suzy Wake and Martyn Banks, as parents Sandra and Phil, Anne Malpass and Steve White, Carole Young and Martin O’Leary  as married couples  Vera and Jim and Rita and Harry. Last, but by no means least, Alexandria Cox and Nick Thompson gave standout performances as Gloria and Andy

Of course the Show would be nothing without a brass band and they came up trumps in the shape of Murton Colliery Band who under the direction of Bandmaster David Conway and with special soloist performances from Chris Reay and Lynn Young  were first class.

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