Theatre News

Casting announced for West & Hall’s Coalhouse revival

| London's West End |

28 February 2012

Casting has been announced for Samuel West and Lee Hall’s forthcoming revival of Alan Plater’s Close the Coalhouse Door, which is being produced by Newcastle’s Northern Stage and Live Theatre.

Directed by West, with additional material by Hall, the production will open at Northern Stage on 18 April (previews from 13 April) and will then tour the UK until June 2012.

The cast will feature: Adam Barlow (The Vicar), Chris Connel (Jackie), Louisa Farrant (Ruth), Jane Holman (Mary), Nicholas Lumley (Thomas), Tarek Merchant (Expert), David Nellist (Geordie), Jack Wilkinson (Frank) and Paul Woodson (John). All other parts will be played by members of the company.

Plater’s ‘play with songs’, which was written and first performed in Newcastle in 1968, charts the major strikes, victories and disappointments in British mining history from the formation of the first unions in 1831. The music, by Alex Glasgow, is inspired by north eastern folk songs of each period.

Lee Hall, who is writing a new ending and an additional song for the new production, said: “This is a very important play. Live Theatre and Northern Stage are two of the most exciting theatres in the country. Sam’s involvement ensures that this will be an explosive and thrilling piece of theatre.”