Door re-opens on a classic play
PLAYWRIGHTS LEGACY ... the late Jarrow-born Alan Plater, whose play Close The Coalhouse Door will be produced by the Northern Stage in association with Live Theatre.
A CLASSIC work by a Jarrow-born playwright is poised to undergo a revival.
Alan Plater left a great literary legacy when he died at the age of 75 in 2010.
One of his undisputed masterworks was Close The Coalhouse Door, a musical play steeped in the traditions of working-class Tyneside, which was originally staged more than four decades ago.
Now the work is being revived as a memorial production by the Northern Stage in Newcastle, in conjunction with Live Theatre.
Tyneside playwright Lee Hall, famous for Billy Elliot and The Pitman Painters, will be contributing new material, and the play will be directed by celebrated actor and director Samuel West.
Born in Jarrow in 1935, Plater’s writing credits included Z Cars, The Beiderbecke Affair, Fortunes Of War, Last Of The Blonde Bombshells, Barchester Chronicles, A Very British Coup, and Lewis, during a writing career spanning half a century.
He also wrote more than 300 pieces for radio, television, theatre and films, as well as six novels.
During his long and distinguished career, he received awards from Bafta, the Broadcasting Press Guild and the Royal Television Society, in addition to an International Emmy.
Several years ago, Plater spoke to the Gazette at his childhood home in York Street, Jarrow, recalling his memories of the town, its people and local industry.
He said: “I can instantly return in my mind to that backyard in Jarrow.”
Plater later moved to Hull, where he spent his formative years, but still found early writing fame with his script for the ground-breaking Close The Coalhouse Door, first staged in Newcastle in 1968, and inspired by the North East mining community.
Close the Coalhouse Door is to be staged from April 13 to May 5.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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Heinrich Scrotwengler von Grossteschattenburg
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 09:53 PMA great Jarra Lad. Few achieve such fame or achievement, sadly. Where's Alan Price?
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