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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Mark Brown North of England correspondent

Billy Elliot writer’s new play swaps West End for church hall in County Durham

Billy Elliot West End Brecht Lee Hall County Durham Durham Ensemble
The Mother Courage cast in a group shot taken in a church hall
Ensemble '84 has brought together its cast after a call-out on social media and advertising the opportunity with local job centres. Photograph: Jodie Nicholson

His plays have been buzzy, hot-ticket openings in the West End and at the National Theatre. Films he has written have had glitzy debuts in Cannes and Venice.

But for the next world premiere of a Lee Hall show, head to the Methodist church in a former mining village in County Durham.

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