Brassed Off

 Brassed Off is the multi-award-winning film of the same name which follows the heart tugging fortunes of a colliery brass band. It is 1994 and the lifeblood of Grimley’s community is threatened when the pit looks set for closure. With the loss off 1200 jobs the women against pit closure are doing everything within their power to keep the pits open. The only thing the men have to take their minds off the potential loss of their jobs, is the brass band and even the future of that is looking bleak. Danny the brass band conductor is blind sided though and seems to only have one thing on his mind, getting as far as the Albert Hall! With politics, strained marriages and the return of Gloria (who hasn’t been completely honest with everyone) this play is action packed! I laughed, I cried, and I cheered. A big congratulations to BAODS and director Jim Rowe.

Stephen Woods who played Danny, has done a remarkable job of bringing Danny’s character to life. A man who seemed to care about only two things (his grand children and his band) came across very well. He was dying, and he knew it, but he didn’t want to worry anyone else. You learned to love Danny’s character and ended up routing for him to have his dream come true of going to the Albert Hall. For all of this to come across clearly is a big credit to Stephen Woods for his acting and Jim Rowe’s vision as director. 

Shane who was played by Joseph Willis (and is one of Danny’s grandchildren) was fantastic. He did an amazing job of narrating and his acting. With his cheeky grin when he was being a kid and playing around as kids do, to his heart-breaking tears at the loss of his Granddad, Joseph did it all exceptionally. You felt the bond between Granddad and Grandson which made the loss of Grandad much more saddening.  With every emotion Joseph went through in this play you felt it. Joseph should be proud of himself. 

Gloria was played by Sophie Lord and Andy was played by Patrick Duffy. Both played their parts exceptionally well. Both passionate in different ways, you believed their onstage romance and the difficulties they both faced. They were both fantastic and should be extremely happy with their performance. 

Phil was played by Darren Brierley and what a performance! He went through a range of emotions all believable and all heart wrenching. His attempted suicide scene had me tear up ‘briefly’ and was heart breaking. You really saw the hardship of what the miners went through. The reality of what so many men and families had gone through and Darren played the part brilliantly. Darren should be patting himself on the back for an exceptional performance.

Alison Grimshaw played the part of Sandra, Phil’s wife and through Alison you saw the real struggle of what miners’ wives had to go through after dealing with previous strikes and getting into trouble with the law. Alison played this part fantastically and she really did manage to tug at the heart strings. Well done to Alison. 

Vera was played by Rebecca Ashworth and Rita was played by Dawn Rowe. These two characters were classic! The friendship they had felt real and they played exceptionally well together. You got to see another real side of what it was really like at that time. Congratulations on such a strong performance to both.     

Ian Eastwood played Jim and Gary Kennedy played Harry and the chemistry on stage was fantastic. It honestly felt like they had been life long friends who had each other’s backs the whole time. Jim would get angry at things going on and Harry would know how to calm him down. The two weere comical at times and a brilliant performance was given by both. 

Emily Chaplin who played the part of Melody in an emotional performance. She didn’t have any lines, but you felt her raw emotion. 

Charlie Keiley who played Craig tried very hard with his performance. He also didn’t have any lines, but he did a good job.

Anne fielder played the part of nurse one. She played the part very well and very convincingly. Great performance.

Julie Stanworth, Bacup Royal Court Theatre's very own stalwart, did a fantastic job as nurse two. Congratulations Julie on doing a really good job, you should be proud of yourself and it’s brilliant watching you go from strength to strength.

Guy Gibbs and Kevin Mullineaux played the part of the awful bailiffs. They may not have had any lines, but they didn’t need to. Their faces and their actions spoke in volumes. Well done to both on playing a convincingly menacing part. 

Stacksteads brass band were fantastic and played beautifully! They’re amazing musicians and brought something extremely special to this play. You could really get lost in the music. They embodied the play. It really was a magical experience! Congratulations on a brilliant performance. 

Jim Rowe directed Brassed off and I want to take this time to say what an amazing job he has done. The decision to use a projector and very little set was extremely brave and cutting edge and it worked beautifully! The vision he had for this play was fantastic. It had its comical parts and it had its serious parts, but they were kept separate to not make light of a very serious situation. Credit where credit is due. 

The operating of the projector was done by Adam Greenwood and it was smooth and seemed effortless. Well done. 

The lighting done by Nick Day reflected extremely well with the mood of each scene and the Sound which was done by Rob Hames and Ian Pemberton was brilliant! Fantastic job guys!

The costumes (which were done by Regina Arkwright) and the props (which were done by Juliette Shepard) were reflective of the 90’s and that wouldn’t have been easy to do! Well done to both.

Brassed off was a brilliant performance to watch, the audience loved it, I loved it and well done to all involved in this fantastic play.  

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