New dance show commemorates miners’ strike

THE MINERS’ strike is being commemorated in Barnsley this weekend with a new dance show overseen by a hometowm boy.

Barnsley-born award-winning choreographer Gary Clarke reflects his own experience growing up in the Yorkshire coalfields with his dance theatre performance, COAL.

COAL takes a nostalgic but honest look at the hard-hitting realities of life at the coal face, the back breaking physical graft and the impact it makes on body and soul, both underground and on the surface.

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Four women from the Barnsley public will make their own contribution to the story, as they join the company of dancers and musicians from the Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band for a remarkable live theatre tribute to the people living in the coalfields.

The recently recruited Civic Champion’s performance is based on years of personal research; including extensive interviews with the founders of Women Against Pit Closures, members of the National Union of Mineworkers, the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign and many more.

Clarke said: “COAL is a direct response to my upbringing in the working class mining village of Grimethorpe, South Yorkshire.

“It’s about trying to capture a time in British history that is too easily forgotten. It is an attempt at keeping the memories of the mining industry alive, an industry that I believe shaped the fabric of our society and how we live our lives today.

“These communities are at the heart of COAL.”

Coal will take over the Civic this Saturday, February 20.

A performance tomorrow night has already sold out.

Tickets are £12 (£10 concessions) and the show is recommended for ages 12 and over.

You can book tickets on 01226 327000.

 

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