Lee Hall’s The Pitmen Painters to Get West End Premiere

Following successful runs in the UK and on Broadway, Lee Hall’s The Pitmen Painters will receive a West End premiere this fall. The original production will again be directed by Max Roberts, and feature many of the actors who starred at the National Theatre and on Broadway. Performances will begin at the Duchess Theatre on October 5, where the piece will officially open on October 11.

Inspired by a book by William Feavers, the play enjoyed a run at the Live Theatre in Newcastle before transferring to London's National Theatre where it played a sold-out, eight-week run and won the Evening Standard Award for Best Play in 2008. It bowed on Broadway in September 2010 at the Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, and closed on December 12, 2010, and is currently touring the U.K.

The Pitmen Painters tells the story of a group of Ashington miners who, in 1934, hired a professor to teach an art appreciation evening class. Rapidly abandoning theory in favor 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.

Bill Kenwright will present The Pitmen Painters, which features scenic and costume design by Gary McCann, lighting design by Douglas Kuhrt, and sound design by Martin Hodgson.