Miners strike a chord with audiences

Mar 8 2009 by Michael Kelly, Sunday Sun

THE miners’ strike was seen as a working class struggle against the powers-that-be in the affluent South. Yet theatre-goers in London are now paying up to £60 a ticket to watch plays or musicals based on the conflict. MIKE KELLY reports on how the miners’ strike and mining has become a cultural phenomenon . . .

IN 1975, after intense negotiations with the National Coal Board, the pay of miners working at the coal face rose to £61.

The National Union of Mineworkers, NUM, entered negotiation on the back of two successful strikes in 1972 and 1974, which gave them the clout to achieve what was a 35 per cent raise.

However, 10 years later, the miners were routed following the year-long dispute and their industry was about to be destroyed by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Government.

If you want to relive the drama it could set you back £60 — the price of a theatre ticket — as the strike has provided rich pickings for playwrights whose work has taken London theatres by storm.

Billy Elliot is the most obvious example. The movie, penned by North writer Lee Hall, was a smash hit worldwide and is now the must-see musical in London’s West End, with music and lyrics provided by Elton John.

Earlier, there was Brassed Off, another film turned into a musical about the struggles of a colliery band after the strike.

In April, Maggie’s End by Ed Waugh and Trevor Wood is due to have a two-week run in London’s Shaw Theatre.

While not directly about the strike, its union backers, including the NUM, as well as its subject matter, about the death of Margaret Thatcher and a Labour Government agreeing a state funeral for her, coupled with the timing of its run at the time of the 25th anniversary of the dispute, gives it an extra resonance.

Ed Waugh believes, in many ways, the plays coming together is just coincidence, but they do represent a sea change in people’s attitudes, not just about the strike, but about who they think they are.

He said: “The class struggle is back on the agenda. People have been saying for years we’re all middle class. That’s rubbish.