Theatre

Brassed Off at Theatre by the Lake Keswick

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Jo Hardy

Based on the 1996 film and set in the fictional mining town of Grimley Yorkshire. The local pit is under threat of closure, the tight knit community are finding it hard to make ends meet and the fear of losing their jobs is worrying everyone.
Each worker has been offered £23,000 each if they vote to close the pit and although they don’t want the pit to close, they knew it was viable but they all start dreaming about what they could do with that money.

The one thing that keeps them all going is the brass band and the band masters determination to get them to the national competition at the Albert Hall.

The set has an industrial look with a shiny black floor that looked just like coal, this simple set let the characters really shine out and for this show the stage has been set “in the round“ so everyone has a good seat and their own unique view of the scenes, I was completely immersed in it.

The show is narrated through the childhood experiences of Shane the son of Phil and Sandra, although Shane was played by adult actor Andrew Turner I completely believed he was a young boy, my heart went out to Phil and Sandra who were struggling to bring up four children with little money and little hope, watching Sandra walk across the stage pushing the pram with children tagging along behind I could almost feel her despair, at this point I must mention the youth cast members who played another two of their children I’m not sure of the names as there are 6 youth members who run on a rota but they were fantastic.

A story of community, love and togetherness and how the spirit can be broken. For the first time ever I got a true feeling of what it must of been like for all those people affected by the pit closures and had to really fight for their jobs.
There’s some sadness and tragedy, a lot love and a lot of laughs in this show but the best thing is the music, with live performances of Danny Boy, Nessan Dorma to name just two, the sound of that brass band gave me goose bumps.
How on earth do they find such talented actors who can also play a brass instrument ? the actors/musicians were also joined by members of Penrith Town Band who I’m proud to say are the band from my home town.

The best thing I’ve seen at Theatre by the Lake this year, I wasn’t surprised when they got a standing ovation.

A joint production with Theatre By The Lake, Octagon Theatre Bolton, Stephen Joseph Theatre.
Brassed Off is showing at Theatre by the Lake until 27th July, it is suitable for ages 13 and above, there is strong language and some reference to suicide.
It runs for 2 hours 30 minutes with an intermission.
Ticket prices starts at £12 and are available from theatrebythelake.com

https://www.theatrebythelake.com/event/brassed-off/

Rating: 5/5

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