Lee Hall interview

In The Daily Telegraph, John Whitley talks to playwright and screenwriter Lee Hall about his new play, The Pitmen Painters, which tells the story of miners who became artists in the 1930s.

"Virtually all the events in the play are true," says Hall, sturdy, bespectacled and himself Newcastle born and bred.

"They really did go to London and hang out with famous artists and their work did attract big collectors. They learned the language of that world.

"Their lives seemed to make a good subject for this theatre, a way of investigating some of the problems that culture brings if you're coming from outside of it, as these guys clearly were. It's a sort of parable. Of course, having written about miners and ballet, this didn't seem too big a stretch!"

The Pitmen Painters opens at the Live Theatre, Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 20 Sept.