''The Price of Coal'' is a two-part television drama written by
Barry Hines
Melvin Barry Hines, FRSL (30 June 1939 – 18 March 2016) was an English author, playwright and screenwriter. His novels and screenplays explore the political and economic struggles of working-class Northern England, particularly in his native W ...
and directed by
Ken Loach
Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (''Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessne ...
first broadcast as part of the ''
Play for Today
''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...
'' series in 1977. Set at the fictional Milton Colliery, near
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
in
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham.
In N ...
, the episodes contrast "efforts made to cosmetically improve the pit in preparation for a royal visit (part one) and the target-conscious safety shortcuts that precipitate a fatal accident (part two)".
The plot bears some similarities to the
Cadeby Main pit disaster of July 1912, which occurred whilst the King and Queen were visiting pit villages in Yorkshire. This disaster is discussed by managers in the first episode, who refer to the timing of the disaster at the same time as the visit as "bad luck".
Language
Characters almost entirely use
Yorkshire dialect
The Yorkshire dialect (also known as Broad Yorkshire, Tyke, Yorkie or Yorkshire English) is a dialect of English, or continuum of dialects, spoken in the Yorkshire region of Northern England. The dialect has roots in Old English and is influen ...
and the episodes have been shown with subtitles even when broadcast in England. Some characters have
north-eastern accents, in a reference to the large-scale migration of displaced colliers from the run-down coalfields in Durham and Northumberland to the richer Yorkshire coalfield in the 1960s. The plays contain an unusually large amount of swearing for a BBC production in the 1970s. This becomes part of the plot in the first episode, as the management ask the miners not to swear during the royal visit. When signs are put up in the pit baths to forbid swearing, the miners attempt to speak in
Received Pronunciation
Received Pronunciation (RP) is the Accent (sociolinguistics), accent traditionally regarded as the Standard language, standard and most Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been ...
to mock the language of the royal family.
Plot
The first episode, ''Meet the People'', is a
comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
dealing with preparations for an official visit to the colliery by
Prince Charles
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
. The humour revolves around the expensive and ludicrous preparations required for an official visit from a member of the Royal Family. Some workers recognise this and cannot take it seriously. Management recognises it but has to 'play the game'. Special toilets must be constructed "just in case" and destroyed after the visit. A worker is instructed to paint a brick holding up a window. On the eve of the visit, the slogan "
Scargill rules OK" is painted on a wall. The manager comments "When I find out who did that I'll string him up by his knackers". In another scene, an argument takes place in a pub between colliers opposed to the expenditure on the visit and who think the colliery was chosen because its union officials were relatively conservative; and other colliers who are looking forward to the visit.
The second episode, ''Back to Reality'', takes place a month later and deals with an underground explosion that kills several miners and follows the attempts to rescue others that remain trapped.
[
]
Cast
* Bobby Knutt
Robert Andrew Wass (25 November 1945 – 25 September 2017), known professionally as Bobby Knutt, was an English actor and comedian. He was known throughout his acting career for appearing as Albert Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale' ...
as Sid Storey
* Rita May as Kath Storey
* Paul Chappell as Tony Storey
* Jayne Waddington as Janet Storey
* Haydn Conway as Mark Storey
* Jackie Shinn as Mr. Forbes
* Duggie Brown
Duggie Brown (born Barry Douglas Dudley; 7 August 1940 – 16 August 2022) was an English comedian and actor. He was the younger brother of actress and singer Lynne Perrie.
Stage work
During the early 1960s, Brown was a guitarist/vocalist in ...
as Geoff Carter
* Bert Oxley as Phil Beatson
* Ted Beyer as Harry
* Tommy Edwards as Alf Meakin
* Anne Firth as Sheila
* Stan Richards
Stanley Richardson, known professionally as Stan Richards (8 December 1930 – 11 February 2005), was an English television actor, best known for his portrayal of Seth Armstrong in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''.
Career
He played the ...
as Albert
* Philip Firth as Ronnie
* Michael Hinchcliffe as Johnny
* Christie Gee as Mrs King
* Ron Delta as Mr Dobson
* Mary Wray as Mrs Dobson
* Hughie Turner as Bob Richards (Part One)
* Robbie Platts as Mr Atkinson (Part One)
* Vicky Dale as Edna (Part One)
* Edward Underdown
Charles Edward Underdown (3 December 190815 December 1989) was an English theatre, cinema and television actor. He was born in London and educated at Eton College in Berkshire.
Notable work
Early theatre credits include: Noël Coward's '' Words ...
as Sir Gordon Horrocks (Part One)
* Danny James as Banksman (Part One)
* Tony Graham as Painter (Part One)
* Peter Russell as Telephonist (Part One)
* Johnny Allan and Peter Martin as the Bomb Squad (Part One)
* Gary Roberts as George Kay (Part Two)
* Jean Spence as Mrs Kay (Part Two)
* Les Hickin as Eric (Part Two)
* Peter Black as Pete (Part Two)
* Paul Bryan as Mr Oates (Part Two)
* Henry Moxon as Eric Johnson, MP (Part Two)
* Olga Grahame as Salvation Army Lady (Part Two)
* Wilfred Grove as Deputy (Part Two)
* Max Smith as National Union of Mineworkers Official (Part Two)
Production
Several of the cast were stand up comedians from the Yorkshire working men's club
Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class me ...
circuit, including Duggie Brown
Duggie Brown (born Barry Douglas Dudley; 7 August 1940 – 16 August 2022) was an English comedian and actor. He was the younger brother of actress and singer Lynne Perrie.
Stage work
During the early 1960s, Brown was a guitarist/vocalist in ...
, Bobby Knutt
Robert Andrew Wass (25 November 1945 – 25 September 2017), known professionally as Bobby Knutt, was an English actor and comedian. He was known throughout his acting career for appearing as Albert Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale' ...
, Stan Richards
Stanley Richardson, known professionally as Stan Richards (8 December 1930 – 11 February 2005), was an English television actor, best known for his portrayal of Seth Armstrong in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''.
Career
He played the ...
and Jackie Shinn. The drama was filmed around the disused Thorpe Hesley
Thorpe Hesley is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, lying east of the M1 motorway at junction 35. The village has been included within the boundaries of Rotherham town since 1894, having previously be ...
colliery near Rotherham
Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
in South Yorkshire. The scenes in which the Mines Rescue Team set off were filmed in Wakefield with the real Mines Rescue Team in the area, who are given thanks in the end credits.
Influences
Hines was raised in the mining community of Hoyland Common near Barnsley, and had been a coal miner when he left school. He recollected that when a neighbour saw him at the coalface and chided him "Couldn't tha find a better job than this?" he was inspired to return to full-time education and trained to be a teacher.
In ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s obituary of Barry Hines, ''The Price of Coal'' was described as "a vehicle for Barry to scrutinise class politics". Hines was a republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
but recognised most British people supported the monarchy, as portrayed in the film. ''The Guardian''s obituary by Tony Garnett
Tony Garnett (3 April 1936 – 12 January 2020) was a British film and television producer, and actor. Best known for his thirteen-year association with director Ken Loach, his work as a producer continued into the 21st century.
Early life and ...
read, "In ''The Price of Coal'' he revealed not only his angry compassion for the daily dangers of mining, but an acknowledgment of the feudal backwardness in his community".
References
External links
IMDB entry for part 1
IMDB entry for part 2
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price of Coal
1977 television films
1977 television plays
BBC television dramas
Coal mining in England
British docudrama films
Films directed by Ken Loach
Films set in Yorkshire
Price of Coal, The
Social realism in film