Acclaimed Staffordshire Claybody Theatre will be shining their miner’s lamp onto the lives of local children of the 1984 Miner’s Strike.
The new play for schools called DIGGING IN has been commissioned by North Staffs Miners’ Wives Action Group as part of a heritage project to mark the 30th Anniversary of the Miners’ Strike.
The play is written by the exceptional Deborah McAndrew and directed by the equally ace Conrad Nelson.
It is based on interviews with the children of the strike, and will be mainly performed in schools situated in the former mining communities of North Staffordshire.
THROUGH THE EYES OF CHILDREN OF THE STRIKE 30 YEARS ON
It’s 1984 and life is complicated for nine-year-old Gary Hargreaves. His mum is pregnant, his sister is a teenage pain in the neck and his dad is on strike.
Through the eyes of Gary and his sister Mandy we find out what life was like for the children of North Staffordshire mining families during that turbulent year.
Based on interviews with the real life children of the strike, this big-hearted play with songs will appeal to all ages, and to those who still remember the Miners’ Strike, thirty years on.
FREE PERFORMANCE
There is one free public performance on Friday 26th June at the Mitchell Arts Centre, Hanley. Tickets are free, but you need to book.
Following the production will be the chance to watch a short film ‘I Support My Dad’, a documentary by Inspired Film and Video. The film examines how the Miners Strike of 1984/85 effected the children and young people whose parents went out on strike.
Completing evening will be the Florence Colliery Band.
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