[2][1] The women, Brenda Procter,[a] Bridget Bell, and Gina Earl, occupied the pit, chained together on a ledge for 80 hours, while a fourth woman, Rose Hunter, remained outside to manage communications and publicity on their behalf.
[5][1] The event became the basis of a documentary musical called Nice Girls, created by Peter Cheeseman, which was staged at the New Victoria Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent and later went on tour in Paris.
[1][7] On 11 January 1993, five members of the North Staffordshire Miners' Wives group towed a caravan outside the Trentham pit at Hem Heath and set up camp to protest its closure.
[5] Drivers honked their car horns and cheered as they passed; visitors regularly brought food; and they received letters of support on a daily basis.
[5] On the second day, 60 women arrived, bringing food and hot water flasks, escorted by police and joined by journalists and television camera crews.
[5] On the third day, they were informed by a British Coal representative that they had been instructed to provide the women with one bottle of water, one carton of orange juice, and a sandwich every 12 hours.
[13] The motion strongly criticised British Coal's refusal to comply with sections 79 and 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990; their poor treatment of the women during their occupation; and the erection of the barbed wire barricade.
[13] It also demanded that the government and Board of Trade block British Coal's final decision on closing any of the 10 collieries under threat, until "some form of independent scrutiny" was brought to bear on their review procedure.
"[18] The 1993 musical Nice Girls was written by Peter Cheeseman as the eleventh in a series of documentary productions he created at New Victoria Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent on "stories of the community".
[4] According to an article by Graham Woodruff published in New Theatre Quarterly, the script "softened" the anger, hostility, and "savage fury" the women had expressed toward authorities including the government, the Coal Board, police, and the environmental health officer from the local council, as well as the pit manager, scabs, and security guards who were onsite.
[22] A review in the Evening Sentinel said, "buoyed by some rousing songs, studied performances and some sharp humour, it builds towards an exhilarating climax which had the first night audience cheering its approval".
[6] Many reviews in newspapers including the Evening Sentinel and The Independent highlighted the scene where the women go shopping and are embarrassed to be seen at the check-out counter with baskets full of hammers, padlocks, and chains, as particularly "hilarious".
[4] Arthur Scargill, president of NUM, attended the opening and said, "The acting was superb, it was highly emotional and it reached the audience in a way which is bound to make it a success.
[23] A spokesperson for the theatre later suggested that low turnout was in part due to the fact that it was staged so soon after the actual event, leading to feelings that the musical was too "political", as well as general fatigue about the topic.
[24] Stoke-on-Trent city councillor Barry Milford, a Conservative Party member, criticised the production, calling it "fringe theatre" that had been staged at the expense of more "traditional" family entertainment.