Following sell-out seasons at the National Theatre and on Broadway, the award-winning play The Pitmen Painters is coming to Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre from Mon 12 to Sat 17 Sept before making its debut on the West End.

Pitmen Painters - David Leonard, Trevor Fox, Michael Hodgson, Deka Walmsley, David Whitaker - photographer Keith Pattinson

Written by Lee Hall, creator of the worldwide sensation Billy Elliot and directed by Max Roberts, The Pitmen Painters has received huge critical acclaim and won the Evening Standard award for Best New Play.

The story follows a group of Ashington miners, who, in 1934 hired a professor to teach an art appreciation evening class. Rapidly abandoning theory in favour of practice, the pitmen began to paint. Within a few years the most avant-garde artists became their friends and their work was acquired by prestigious collections; but every day they worked, as before, down the mine.

Examining the lives of a group of ordinary men that do extraordinary things, The Pitmen Painters is a humorous, deeply moving and timely look at art, class and politics.

The cast features many of the actors who starred in the original National Theatre and Broadway productions including Deka Walmsley, David Whitaker, Brian Lonsdale, Michael Hodgson and Trevor Fox.

The Pitmen Painters premiered at Live Theatre in Newcastle in 2007 before moving to the National Theatre in London and then to Broadway, New York in September 2010 where it received much critical acclaim.

Writer Lee Hall’s previous accomplishments include the screenplay for the hit film Billy Elliot which he later adapted for the West End in 2005, with Elton John providing the music. The show won an Olivier Award for Best New Musical and made the move to the US in 2008 where it continues to run on Broadway.

Tickets for The Pitmen Painters are available now from the box office on 024 7655 3055 or via www.belgrade.co.uk priced from £15.25 – £28.75, with concessions available. Tickets are cheaper when booked online.