Cast Announced for CLOSE THE COLEHOUSE DOOR April-June UK Tour

Casting has been announced for Alan Plater's CLOSE THE COALHOUSE DOOR, which is being revived by Northern Stage and Live Theatre in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Directed by Samuel West, with additional material by Lee Hall, the production will open at Northern Stage on Wednesday 18 April, with previews from Friday 13 April and will then tour the UK until June 2012.

Adam Barlow (Coronation Street, The Red Zone) will play 'the Vicar', Chris Connel (The Pitmen Painters, Live Theatre, RNT & Broadway, Cooking with Elvis, Live Theatre) will play 'Jackie', Louisa Farrant (The Glass Slipper, Northern Stage) will play 'Ruth', Jane Holman (Looking for Buddy, Bolton, film of Billy Elliot) will play 'Mary', Nicholas Lumley (Much Ado About Nothing, West End, After the Dance, RNT) will play 'Thomas', Tarek Merchant (Sunset Boulevard, West End, Chess, UK tour) will play 'Expert', David Nellist (Billy Elliot, Much Ado About Nothing, West End) will play 'Geordie', Jack WIlkinson (A Man for All Seasons, Sheffield & The Good Soul of Szechuan, Watford Palace) will play 'Frank' and Paul Woodson (Eternal Law, ITV, Nativities, Live Theatre) will play 'John'. All other parts will be played by members of the company.

Samuel West said, "When I began casting Close the Coalhouse Door, I was apprehensive. Finding people to populate a play with a strong sense of place and music at its heart was always going to involve a big search. And the shopping list of skills we need is long: native or convincing Geordies who can sing, move, tour and play at least one musical instrument and preferably two, and most importantly, who have the talent and the wit to serve Alan Plater and Sid Chaplin's words.

I needn't have worried. At the very first casting session in Newcastle I realised the incredible depth of talent in the North East. Again and again people came in with songs and speeches that showed they had this play in their blood. I'm very proud of the cast we've assembled: a range of age and experience drawn from the best actors in the North East and elsewhere in Britain. I know you're going to like them. We can't wait to get this show on the road."

CLOSE THE COALHOUSE DOOR, based on the stories of Sid Chaplin with songs by Alex Glasgow, is a musical play which was written and first performed in Newcastle in 1968, charting all the major strikes, victories and disappointments in British mining history from the formation of the first unions in 1831. The story is structured around music by Alex Glasgow, inspired by north eastern folk songs of each period.

Alan Plater CBE, who died last year, was a writer in the golden age of British television drama. As well as 18 episodes of Z-Cars, he wrote Fortunes of War, The Beiderbecke Affair, The Last of the Blonde Bombshells and A Very British Coup (Channel 4). He founded the Spring Street Theatre in Hull, home to Hull Truck; and alongside Close the Coalhouse Door, his work for the stage includes The Fosdyke Saga and Sweet William, as well as Tales From The Backyard, Charlie's Trousers and In Blackberry Time, also based on stories by Sid Chaplin, all directed by Max Roberts, Artistic Director of Live Theatre.

Friday 13 April – Saturday 5 May Box Office: 0191 230 5151 Northern Stage, Newcastle Website: www.northernstage.co.uk

Wednesday 9 – Saturday 12 May Box Office: 0844 871 7651 Richmond Theatre Website: www.atgtickets.com/richmond

Tuesday 15 – Saturday 19 May Box Office: 0843 208 6000 The Lowry, Salford Website: www.thelowry.com

Wednesday 23 – Saturday 26 May Box Office: 01484 430 528 Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield Website: www.thelbt.org

Tuesday 29 May – Saturday 2 June Box Office: 01483 44 00 00 Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford Website: www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk

Tuesday 12 June – Saturday 16 June Box Office: 0191 332 4041 Gala, Durham Website: www.galadurham.co.uk

Tuesday 19 – Saturday 23 June Box Office: 01865 305305 Oxford Playhouse Website: www.oxfordplayhouse.com

Tuesday 26 – Saturday 30 June Box Office: 01904 623 568 Theatre Royal, York Website: www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

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