Bands return to the COAL face 

Awarded four stars and heralded by The Times as "An absorbing, immediate slice of history rendered with the kind of emotional truth that deepens its impact as popular entertainment", 'COAL' was created to mark the 30th anniversary of the end of the 1984/5 British Miners' strike and features three brass bands in its performances across the UK.  

Carlton Main Colliery Band feature along with award winning choreographer Gary Clarke in the opening and closing performances of the 'COAL' UK Tour, with Whitburn providing the music for the Scottish dates and Downshire Brass in Ireland. It's a riveting dance theatre show which takes a nostalgic look at the hard-hitting realities of life at the coal face. Strong powerful and emotive, the production explores the darker underbelly of the mining industry, now almost forgotten.  

'COAL' brings together Clarke's striking physical language performed by a company of seven stunning professional dancers and live brass band music, as musicians from Carlton Main Frickley, Whitburn and Downshire Bands provide a backing track to various parts of the dance production as it tours the UK. 

'COAL' is a nostalgic, moving and ever-relevant exploration of community, solidarity and survival and can be seen at the following venues throughout February and March: 

14th February – Cast, Doncaster (Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band) 
9th - 10th March – Eden Court, Inverness (Whitburn Band) 
13th - 14th March – The Byre Theatre, St Andrews (Whitburn Band) 
21st - 22nd March – The Metropolitan Arts Centre, Belfast (Downshire Brass) 
28th March – Dome, Brighton (Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band) 
 
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