Miners play thought-provoking
by Elissa Barnard, Arts Reporter, HeraldStories of three trapped men well acted, well written
Matthew Walker, Lee J. Campbell and Bruce Tubbe play miners trapped underground in the Springhill bump of 1958. The Ships Company Theatre production BUMP is playing in Parrsboro to July 27. (TOM MCCOAG / STAFF)
BUMP is a fascinating story about three miners trapped two miles underground struggling to stay alive and to stay sane.
The true story of the 1958 Springhill mine disaster and the men who survived for over a week is playing just 46 kilometres from the former mining town. A matinee audience on opening weekend gave the play a standing ovation and obviously knew the story and its people.
Three beautifully convincing portraits of the miners and a fine production design save Richard Merrill’s play from a frustration built into its structure.
The story is told — necessarily — from two points of view. Julia Williams plays Mrs. Norma Ruddick, the wife of the heroic "singing miner" Maurice Ruddick. Triggered by hearing a news story about a mine disaster in Pennsylvania, the elderly woman gets out her scrapbook from 1958 and talks to the "ladies" of Pennsylvania, both telling the story of her past and acting within that story.
BUMP flips between her, in a 1950s kitchen and sitting room, and the three men, who are behind her in a large cut-out section of a huge rock face. Lights dim and haunting strings and piano signal when it’s time to switch from the miners back to Mrs. Ruddick.
It’s hard to continually switch back and forth because the pacing and dramatic qualities in the two sections are entirely different. The interaction among the miners is driven and in real time. The characters change during their ordeal. Mrs. Ruddick’s story is tempered by the passage of time for slower paced storytelling.
As played by Williams and as a character who represents the strength of all the miners’ wives, this Mrs. Ruddick is an incredibly calm, gentle and slow-speaking woman with an unshakable faith that her husband is alive. Remarkably, Williams is on stage for over two hours forging this memorable character.
The play reflects the excruciating wait for rescue; however, the constant flipping between scenes grows repetitive, especially towards the end of an overly long, 75-minute, first act. By the second act one is used to it and, as the days wind down, the structure changes effectively at the very end to switching between a silent, praying Mrs. Ruddick starting to consider her husband could be dead and the miners, who are sluggish, crazed and near death.
For all the interesting details about this disaster, with its miracles, televised media coverage and royal visits, BUMP would be a dreary play if not for the well-written and performed three miners, who represent the group of seven who were the last to be rescued.
The irreverent Percy is a splash of colour and vitality. Crusty, teasing and full of humour, richly portrayed by Lee J. Campbell, he is a counterpoint to the devout, steady Maurice Ruddick and the panicked young man, Frank.
Bruce Tubbe as Ruddick and Matthew Thomas Walker as Frank give their characters a full life even as they are quieter and less verbally expressive and they shift beautifully into despair, physical deterioration and deep friendship. So real are these trapped, deprived men that it’s amazing at intermission to realize the mine is just a man-made hole in a wall in a theatre.
Along with Katherine Jenkins’ set, Bruce MacLennan’s lighting design is key to creating the realism of the mine and the kitchen. The light also acts metaphorically. The miners were often in darkness and Mrs. Ruddick turns out all her lights to be close to what her husband is experiencing. In the end a window of light is splashed over her indicating a window on the past as well as a look to the future. It reminds the audience to remember.
Authentic costumes are by Jennifer Coe with an original composition and sound design by Michael Doherty that unifies the play and dictates its mood.
While BUMP, lovingly directed by Michael Chiasson, could be edited and shaped for even more dramatic power, the play is a rewarding, thought-provoking experience that brings an important piece of Nova Scotia history alive.
