" Fine Men Who Were Fine Painters"

Yesterday afternoon ( hottest October day for ages) we watched a fabulous play at Theatr Clwyd. We fanned ourselves with our programmes and sipped our Volvic thirstily. In the interval, we gorged icecream. And at the end of the play, there was great applause and a standing ovation for a Company that excelled.

This was Live Theatre Newcastle/National Theatre's co-production of "The Pitmen Painters". The play was written by Lee Hall, inspired by a book by William Feaver, telling the inspiring true story of The Ashington Group, a gang of North Eastern miners... who discovered within themselves a wonderful passion for painting and a creativity they never knew existed.

This play was both moving and enthralling. There was politics and social history, lessons in art appreciation and there was lots of comedy......including swift oneliners which had the audience in stitches.

BUT most of all, we loved the characters: their differences, their strengths, their weaknesses, their pains and their delights. And of course their fantastic story: how they worked in the pits by day, painted by night...and ultimately achieved recognition and the applause of the greats.

As a friend of mine said today, THIS is a play that should tour for ever...!

PS: Happy Birthday BLOG! Six years old yesterday...!