Lee Hall?s curiously didactic The Pitmen Painters is based on a real group of coal miners from Northern England who rose to prominence in the art world in the 1930s. But being factual is not necessarily the same as being dramatic, as this intriguing, yet inert tale proves.
Hall, best known for writing Billy Elliot as both a film and a musical, uses the miners? history to explore issues of art and the nature of talent, while downplaying the human struggle of these men. Palm Beach Dramaworks certainly does its part, gathering a terrific company of actors for the play?s area premiere, but they cannot hide the fact that their characters are rarely more than two-dimensional mouthpieces for the author?s arguments.
Unschooled since the age of 11 to work the mines, these grown men enroll in an art appreciation course to better themselves. But their instructor is so frustrated by their ignorance of the basic tenets of art, he gives them each a brush, paint and canvas in the hope that they can learn by doing.
This impromptu experiment in self-expression unleashes unexpected wells of artistic talent, turning the miners into what became known as The Ashington Group, working-class painters whose art has been acclaimed far beyond the novelty of its creators? naivete.
So "show and tell" is in session at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre, as the miners bring in their painting assignments ? projected on a trio of screens that hover above Michael Amico?s dark-toned unit set. Soon the pitmen are critiquing each other?s work, slinging about art jargon with an articulation way beyond their years of education, but convenient for Hall?s purposes.
Early on, the miners and their lack of knowledge is the source of much easy humor. (The instructor mentions "Titian" and a miner responds "Bless you.") When a comely young girl arrives to pose nude for a life study exercise, the miners fall all over themselves in comic embarrassment.
Eventually, the group not only gains an exhibition, but they attract the attention of wealthy art patron Helen Sutherland. She takes a fancy to miner Oliver Kilbourn, the most talented of the group who also has an intuitive understanding of conceptual art. The closest The Pitmen Painters gets to dramatic tension is when she offers Oliver a weekly stipend to paint full-time and he has to decide whether to give up risking his life down the mines.
Oliver, played with understated sensitivity by Declan Mooney, is the only pitman depicted as a fully rounded character. At least Colin McPhillamy (of Dramaworks? impressive Copenhagen) ably handles most of the comic one-liners as dense Jimmy Floyd. The rest of the miners are all played well enough, but they have few opportunities to distinguish themselves from the group.
John Leonard Thompson (American Buffalo, Candida) is something of a stand-in for the audience as instructor Robert Lyon, conveying his bewilderment at and eventual affection for his students. Kim Cozort adds a touch of class as art collector Sutherland, and serves as a fashion plate in Erin Amico?s well-heeled costumes.
Director J. Barry Lewis stages the play simply and effectively, drawing good work from his cast, but it is hard to shake the feeling that there is a better play to be written about these pitmen artists from Ashington.
R E V I E W
The Pitmen
Painters
B-
Where: Palm Beach Dramaworks at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre, 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach
When: Through March 18
Tickets: $55. Call: (561) 514-4042
The verdict: The history of a group of miners-turned-artists is told with little drama, despite impressive work from the assembled cast.
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