All Words and Music Copyright © Peter Fearnley 2003-2011 All Rights Reserved
OLD KING COAL is a musical play that tells the story of a community torn apart by the miners' strike of 1984-85. It's told through the eyes of three generations of the Bradfield family and is set in the mining village of Coakley in South Yorkshire.
This web site includes artwork and images from the premiere performance of OLD KING COAL, together with an introduction to the play, and links to other related resources - including links to other projects by the play's author, Peter Fearnley, and to other productions by Steel Valley Beacon Arts. Click the links on the bar above to navigate the site.
The musical was premiered by Steel Valley Beacon Arts in June 2007. The run was a resounding success - including a standing ovation for the final performance at Dearne Playhouse, which was formerly the Miners’ Welfare for Goldthorpe, Thurnscoe and Highgate Collieries. A second run was commissioned by the TUC in 2009 to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the start of the strike, culminating in a performance at the South Yorkshire Festival at Wortley Hall.
Currently, there are no plans for another run of OLD KING COAL. However, the 30th Anniversary of the strike is approaching and it is hoped that there will be a number of commemorative performances during 2014-15.
Any theatre company interested in putting on a production of OLD KING COAL is invited to contact us at the following email address: info@oldkingcoal.org
Can you hear the death knell toll for Old King Coal?