Reader Reviews
The Pitmen Painters (Cottesloe (National Theatre), West End)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | I lived the first 18 years of my life in a mining village and both my father and brother were miners, so I'm hardly objective when it comes to plays like this. However, judging by the reaction of the largely southern middle class audience in the Cottersloe, I'm in the majority whereas joesmith (below) with his cynical 'victimhood' Borisism is in the minority. Lee Hall, as he did in Billy Elliott, has again got to the emotional core of these communities. This play is much more than the story of the extraordinary Ashington Group of pitmen painers. It's funny, moving, captivating and thoroughly entertaining. There's no set as such, but the terrific ensemble develop these fascinating characters and anchor the play fully in its time and place. Maybe it is a touch sentimental, but it's also one of the most human and thoroughly British plays I've seen. Give me Lee Hall's slices of social history over Pinter or Stoppard's glib pretension any day of the week. Thank you NT for bringing it south. - Gareth James | 22 Jun 08 |
| Funny and engaging, this is a wonderful depicition of the Ashington miners who discovered their talent for art. It also debates art and class and shows how the working classes make just as valid a claim to be taken seriously as artists. In this, there are some similarities to the writer Lee Hall's most famous work, Billy Elliot. A very fine piece of emsemble acting. - Paul Wallis | 20 Jun 08 |
| I had given this 5 stars but the score defaulted to 3 when I had to repost the confirmation code. - Peter | 07 Jun 08 |
| This inspiring, absorbing, witty work, by the author of famed radio play 'Spoonface' and film and then stage success 'Billy Elliot', has a cast that seems as if it was always intended to play these characterful parts. Credit, too, to William Feaver whose book on the Ashington Group is the basis for all this. Screens are used to illustrate the detail of the art being discussed, and provide short explanations of changes between 1934-47, with the sound of working mines a reminder of everyday lives. The 300 seat Cottesloe has a play here that could fill a much larger theatre for a longer run, but demand for tickets seems by now to have the National considering a West End transfer. Whoever imagined a play this good running just a few weeks in our capital city? - Peter | 07 Jun 08 |
| Interesting history and art lesson - great to hear all the perspectives on what they produced - dropped off a bit in the second half though. I think the playwright sensed this which is why he inserted a Random Emotional Scene in Act 4 or so - a little bit playwriting by numbers there - but overall I'm glad to have seen it. - Kit | 28 May 08 |
| Although the first half of this play is amusing and at first in parts very funny you gradually become a little tired. The second half could do with being shortened as my interest began to wain and my bum became numb. In all an intersting play but would be better with no interval and cutting by at least half an hour especially the overlong social class scences and getting rid of the overhead projection screens that added nothing to the play. - ILS | 24 May 08 |
| Good ensemble acting but that's about all. The first half is just bearable before the "pity us poor miners" victimhood and working class hero versus upper class twit cartoon is really piled on thick. Add to this the 'Billy Idiot' saccharine and you've got a crowd pleasing fringe show that's as light on Socialist history as 'Never so Good' is, on the Tories. - joesmith | 23 May 08 |
| Excellent in all depts. Deserves to transfer to a larger venue or be at the NT for longer than just a few weeks. Sure to be a wordd of mouth hit! - Ed | 23 May 08 |
