Lee Hall's The Pitmen Painters on Tour

Inspired by a book by William Feaver, The Pitmen Painters, named Best Play at the 2008 Evening Standard Awards, brings to life the story of the Ashington Group – miners from Northumberland who became celebrated painters.   The Pitmen Painters is a humorous, deeply moving and timely look at art, class and politics.

In 1934, a group of Ashington miners hired a professor to teach an art appreciation evening class. Rapidly abandoning theory in favour of practice, the pitmen began to paint. Within a few years the most avant-garde artists became their friends and their work was acquired by prestigious collections; but every day they worked, as before, down the mine.  

Writer Lee Hall may be best known for writing the screenplay for Billy Elliot which he then adapted for the West End in 2005, winning an Olivier Award for Best New Musical. Billy Elliot opened on Broadway in November 2008. His plays also include Spoonface Steinberg (Ambassadors), Cooking with Elvis (Live Theatre, Assembly Rooms and West End), and an adaptation of Herman Heijerman’s The Good Hope for the NT.

The Pitmen Painters, a co-production between Live Theatre, Newcastle and the National Theatre, is directed by Max Roberts and designed by Gary McCann, with lighting by Douglas Kuhrt and sound by Martin Hodgson.