Radium Girls Senior Production: Review
Posted on August 14, 2024
The Year 13 Macleans College Drama class recently presented Radium Girls by D.W. Gregory, held in the Macleans College Auditorium.
The performance spanned two evening shows and one afternoon matinee, which was attended by Year 12 and Year 13 Cambridge English Literature students. Connie Zhang, a Year 13 student from Hillary House, was in the audience and shared her experience.
‘As Dafoe says, “great theatre is about challenging how we think and encouraging us to fantasise about a world we aspire to.” Seventeen Year 13 Drama students brought the horrors of science and business to the stage in Radium Girls.
Described as “haunting” and “exhilarating”, the production follows a dramatisation of Grace Fryer’s true story as she battles against the U.S. Radium Corporation in search of retribution for the failing health of her and the other radium girls. A heartbreaking tale of science, social justice and labour exploitation, Radium Girls brought many audience members to the brink of tears.
The staging, featuring a clock tower so dominating it ominously looms over the characters, the ever-present glowing effect, and abundance of fog-machine smoke, paired with the incredible execution of emotionally charged scenes left a lasting impact on the audience.
Year 12 and 13 English Literature students were treated to a performance of the play to aid their understanding of the dramatic form and how theatre can bring important issues to life, furthering their studies into the crafts of literary activism and the interplay of art and science.
This tragic yet inspiring tale is one that continues to resonate in this modern day.’
