‘Pits, People and Players’ is the new production from Horden based Ensemble ’84 that celebrates the County Durham village as it reaches its 125th anniversary.

One of the biggest cultural success stories to emerge in the north-east this year is the formation of Ensemble ’84, a new theatre company based in Horden that is dedicated to reshaping theatre by highlighting untapped talent and unheard voices from the region. Their first production – Bertolt Brecht’s ‘Mother Courage and Her Children’ – was a roaring success and they look well set to equal those standing ovations with ‘Pits, People and Players’. This new show is rooted in the lived experiences of local people and crafted from a tapestry of testimony, memory and imagination. Poetic, political and deeply humane, it explores Horden’s rise as a pillar of the UK’s industrial might and then the painful unravelling that occurred following the pit’s closure in 1987. But this isn’t just a story of decline. With care and candour, the production looks ahead to a future marked by shifting demographics, new challenges, and a fierce desire for renewal. It also asks questions about identity, belonging, and the meaning of community in a changing world.

Pits, People and Players, 19-23 August, Horden Methodist Church, Peterlee, 7.30pm (Sat mat 2.30pm), £5 for preview (19 August), £18 all other performances (concessions £8), ensemble84.com