Brassed Off Comes to York, and Darcie Hewitt-Dudding thinks it’ll be something quite special …
It’s 1992, and it’s a bad time for miners, and quite a bad time for those miners who are playing in brass bands. It’s quite difficult to play brass instruments when you’re feeling blue.
But if you’re in York from Friday the 14th of February til the 1st of March, you may well hear the passionate and inspiring notes of a fabulous brass band emanating from a certain theatre. Yep, that rom-com come brass band concert that is Brassed Off! will be gracing the stage of the York Theatre Royal with a real brass band – and John McArdle (who plays Danny and was in Brookside) will really have to conduct.
Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Miner’s Strike of 1984, this production of Brassed Off is directed by York Theatre Royal’s Artistic Director Damien Cruden. It will open at the York theatre and go on tour to 10 other venues. The live band promises to be something quite special. Made up of different, professional musicians local to each venue, the band alone will be worth going to see.
The 1997 film, starring the late Pete Postlethwaite, Ewan McGregor and a host of other well-known faces, travels along the same roads that The Full Monty did – the downtrodden have their day – but instead of stripping, the Yorkshire characters play brass instruments. With a love story thrown in too, it’s a story that warms your heart. Facing the closure of their colliery, Danny is struggling to keep the brass band together, and his dream of winning the national brass band championship seems very far away. Along comes Gloria, a talented flugelhorn player, who brings hope, romance and controversy to their town of Grimley. Written and directed by York’s Mark Herman, it’s no wonder that it’s a Yorkshire film through and through. It’s a story of character and human nature, and one that will translate perfectly to the stage, particularly because there’ll be rousing music from a real brass band.
With a score that includes Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and Jerusalem, I’d stake my life if you don’t come back a brass band obsessive.
For more information go to the York Theatre Royal website.