On 23 August we went to see ENSEMBLE ’84 perform the ‘Pits, People and Players’ on the very day of Horden’s anniversary, the day they dug the first sod for the deep pit on the North East Coast. The small theatre in Horden was once the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel.
This new production ‘born entirely from the voices and lived experiences of the people of Horden’ spans the history of Horden. From the green fields and Yoden’s yew denes of 1900 to the present day, it was researched entirely by ENSEMBLE ’84 themselves, a massive task in itself. Some of the contributors to this research were the residents of Jack Dormand (once MP for the area) Care Home in Horden. I imagine the residents would have loved to talk to the researchers about Horden as they remembered it. One contributor was a lady aged 102.
ENSEMBLE ‘84 took this research and together built it into a performance of stories, songs, and movement. The ten performers, many of them young, were directed by Mark Dornford-May in what was an evocative, moving performance, especially for those, like myself who were born into a mining family.
A history of Horden in the production
Horden was initially owned by Horden Collieries Ltd but nationalised in 1947 under the NCB. Pit sinkers were need to excavate the deep mine. Wooden huts were rapidly built to house these workers and their families. Workers came from far and near and the village grew rapidly as terraced houses were built. Those with large families, especially boys, were particularly welcome as they would one day go down the pit. Introduction of the Eight Hours Act in 1910 meant a three-shift system that reduced the miners’ wages. A strike resulted and in Horden the unrest went further, to what was called the ‘Horden Riot’ where the Club was burned down. Then some miners marched to Hardwick Hall, the home of Mr John Prest the manager, to persuade him not to have a three-shift system. They were met by Mr Prest on the roof of house brandishing a shotgun to frighten those who were becoming violent, but unfortunately wounding a 14-year-old lad and inflicting several others with pellet wounds. Police with baton attacks caused the crowd to disperse.
The 1926 General Strike brought much hardship but Durham miners staying out for seven months, long after other workers had returned to their employment. In 1930 Horden mined 6,758 tons of coal in one day, a European record which lasted for thirty years. In 1935 4,342 people were employed there. The 1974 Strike brought down Heath’s Government. Then in 1977 Horden was hailed as super pit, with jobs for life guaranteed in 1979. But the Miners’ Strike in 1984, as a result of Margaret Thatcher’s determination to reduce the power of the Trade Unions, brought the beginning of the end. There were 175 pits in the UK at the time. The strike brought hardship and food kitchens run by women. Pits closed; Horden pit closed in 1987. The song from ‘Close the Coalhouse Door’ with words adapted ran throughout the production. This time the line ended with:
“The Thatcher way, Unions smashed. She’s overjoyed. Stay outside.”
The stage setting, and performance
This sounds like a history lesson but it was done at a pace with information and incidents flowing onwards in an entertaining, vibrant way. The World Wars were covered affectingly with marching-off to ‘Pack up Your Troubles’ in WW1; when 156 men from Horden were killed, the wounded returned to a song with the tune of ‘What a Friend You Have in Jesus.’ The ‘Last Post’ was also sounded. WW2 saw those going off to war agilely leaping off to ‘Run Rabbit Run Rabbit.’ Bevin Boys, reluctant to become miners instead of soldiers, were horrified on their first descent in the cage.
Three doors were held up and to the theme of ‘The Ride of the Valkyries’ three women vigorously scrubbed the front door step, a signifier of the hard work women did in a mining village. This was interrupted by one woman being informed of the death of her husband at the pit. Movingly, out of the 171 men killed in accidents at the pit, names were mentioned and black ribbons tied around already black be-ribboned post.
In the gallery above the stage there was a replica of small pit winding gear. Near the end of the production, the wheels were dismantled, handed down and placed next to the black be-ribboned pole. The pit had also died. David Harrison played ‘Gresford’ on his trumpet, the emotional tune to commemorate the loss of 266 men and boys, 254 who remained entombed after a massive firedamp explosion in Gresford in 1934. This action encapsulated all those throughout the years who had lost their lives in the pits, and all those who had lost their livelihoods and saw communities destroyed when the pits closed.
The choreography by Lungelo Ngamlana was amazing, as were the special effects done with such simple objects like the noise of the descending cage created using a large oil drum and iron rasp together with the opening and closing of the cage door represent by a garden trellis.
The standing ovation was so well deserved.
A reminder: Ensemble ’84 will perform “Mother Courage and her Children” between 23rd October-1st November in the Live Theatre, Newcastle. Don’t miss it; I may see you there.
Further details and link to Live Theatre here.
