Play pays tribute to mining communities

Published: 1 October 2018
Reporter: Peter Lathan

The Last Seam

The Last Seam, a play about the closure of one of the last deep seam pits in the UK, comes to Sunderland on 11 and 12 October.

When Hatfield Main, near Doncaster, closed in June 2015, it was one of just two deep seam pits in the country, the other being Kellingley in North Yorkshire, which closed in December of the same year.

Garry Lyons, an established playwright and lecturer in the University of Leeds School of Performance and Cultural Industries, tells how the play came about.

“The idea for a play developed from me following the news about the Hatfield Main closure, literally with two hours’ notice,” he said. “Doncaster theatre Cast had recently opened and was looking for new writing and I approached them and said that the closure after such a long history of mining in the area was worth exploring as a play.”

He went on to collect stories from ex-miners, their families and the local community around Hatfield Main over a five-month period.

“I’m from London,” he added, “and although I’ve lived in Yorkshire for many years I had no particular connection to mining, so I went into the research with no preconceived ideas of what stories and themes might emerge.”

The play examines the effects the closure of Hatfield Main had on two local villages and their inhabitants. Its five main characters are amalgamations of people he met during his months of research. It covers the period from the Miners’ Strike of 1984-5 through to the shutting of the mine and the Brexit referendum.

“Their dialogue, their words, are as they were spoken to me,” he went on. “I wanted to keep the accents and tone of what they said and how they said it so some of the dialogue is direct transcripts of real conversations.

“All the people I met, the miners and their families, told me some really funny stories, many of which found their way into the play. There’s a gentle humour throughout and I think that makes it more accessible.

“I hope it’s a tribute to those who worked in the mines and their families—but I also hope it’s a tribute to those who lived in the same communities who had nothing to do with the mines. One of my main characters lives in the area, but doesn’t work at the mine and that means he has a different and interesting perspective.”

Brought to the city by Sunderland Stages, The Last Seam comes to The Peacock on High Street West on 11 and 12 October. Tickets cost £9 (£7.50 for concessions) and the play is suitable for those over 16. Tickets can be booked via the Sunderland Stages web site.

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