Review: Brassed Off Leeds Playhouse
Thirty years ago, I saw the film version of Brassed Off and wept buckets. In 1996, the year-long miners’ strike had been over for 11 years, but the wounds were still raw.
The story struck a real chord. Many of my friends were striking miners; some, like the character Phil in the film, were imprisoned for their part on the picket line. All faced huge debts and, in many cases, the breakdown of long-standing friendships and relationships.
There may no longer be a mining industry in Britain, but the same struggles are being fought in workplaces across the UK today, making Brassed Off every bit as relevant now as it was then.
I had high hopes for director Amy Leach’s production at Leeds Playhouse, the first time the play has been staged at the theatre.
Adapted by Paul Allen from Mark Herman’s screenplay, it introduces us to the familiar characters: band leader Danny, whose lifelong dream is to conduct at the Albert Hall; best mates Jim and Harry, a pair of wise-cracking pitmen whose bluster and bravado quickly disappear when confronted by their formidable wives; and Danny’s son Phil, whose wife Sandra is at the end of her tether, left at home with three young children while the bailiffs hammer at the door.
As in the film, the story is set in the fictional Yorkshire mining town of Grimley during the 1990s. The miners are battling to save their pit from closure while simultaneously trying to qualify for the National Brass Band Championship at the Albert Hall against all the odds.
Into this uncertainty returns Gloria, who rekindles a relationship with her former school crush, Andy.
David Birrell’s Danny is the beating heart of the production. His determination to secure the band’s success, whatever the personal cost, is both powerful and deeply moving.
However, it is Robin Morrissey as Phil who elicits the greatest sympathy. His performance, veering from over-enthusiastic optimism to crushing despair, is often difficult to watch because it feels so painfully real.
Maddie Hansen brings emotional depth to Gloria while also proving herself a highly accomplished flugelhorn player. Frazer Hadfield is a likeable Andy, a lost soul still searching for where he belongs.
Much of the comedy comes courtesy of Ewen Cummins as Harry and Andy Cryer as Jim, who make a superb double act.
The other stars of the show are the members of two Wakefield brass bands, Horbury Victoria Brass Band and Wakefield Metropolitan Brass Band. They do far more than simply provide musical accompaniment, becoming an integral part of the storytelling. The seamless way the actors and musicians work together brings the production vividly to life, adding even greater power and emotional resonance.
A moving, funny and heartfelt production that proves Brassed Off has lost none of its relevance or emotional impact.
Until July 11