IT has left audiences spellbound, wowed the West End in London and proved a hit on Broadway in New York.
Now theatre-goers more than 3,400 miles away will discover the wonders of the Pitmen Painters, when the curtain rises tonight on the Canadian premiere of Lee Hall’s life-affirming play.
Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton, Ontario, begins a two-week run of the true story of the Ashington Group of miners, who became sensations of the art world after hiring an art teacher in 1934.
And the cast members’ performances will be authentic with Northern accents – thanks to an ex-pat and globe-trotting actor.
In a twist of fate, actor Nigel Bennett – who plays art teacher George Brown – is placed to guide his fellow actors on the North East accent, having spent years on Tyneside as a young thespian in the 70s.
“I’m from Wolverhampton but I was a member of the Bruvvers Theatre in Ouseburn, Newcastle, so I know Tyneside and Ashington well,” said Nigel.
“I’ve lived and worked in Canada for 25 years so this has brought back many happy memories for me.
“When I was with Bruvvers we performed in Ashington at the working men’s club. Our rehearsals have gone very well and we’ve had a lot of fun working on it.
“It’s a very funny play, well it’s funny in some places but there are serious moments in there too. And I think the story transfers very well here too.
“The city of Hamilton where we are based is a steel town, suffering the same kind of attrition that has affected the North East, with more competition from steel abroad, so there are a lot of people out of work walking the streets.
“I’m just doing a Geordie accent. I’m not sure about an Ashington accent, but the audience won’t be able to tell the difference.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how it goes down with the audience.”
Artist Richard Flynn, who moved to Canada from Cramlington 20 years ago, has helped the actors master their accents and get a feel for the region’s mining heritage, through works he carried out in the area three decades ago.
Richard, who lives two hours away from Hamilton in New Brunswick, recorded conversations with members of the Dudley Miners Lodge in the 1980s.
Now, digital versions of those recordings are helping his Canadian counterparts.
The 61-year-old artist said: “I’m working on a new project involving the work I carried out with the Dudley Miners, and I came across the recordings and sent them to the play’s director Ron Ulrich who contacted me to say how wonderful they are.
“It gives them a real feel for the authentic accents, and they have been played to the cast. I’ve been invited to go along and see it, and I’m very interested to see how the story travels.”
Originally produced by Newcastle’s acclaimed Live Theatre, the original cast took the Pitmen Painters on sell-out seasons at the National Theatre and on Broadway before bringing it back to Tyneside last year.
Penned by Lee Hall and directed by Max Roberts, it has garnered huge critical acclaim and won the Evening Standard award for Best New Play.