Our Sixth Form drama production – ‘Radium Girls’ – is fast approaching!
Enjoy this powerful play here in Ely before we stage it at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the summer.
The production, which was written by DW Gregory, is being directed by Old Elean, Isaac Beeton, who is our Director in Residence.
About the play – In 1926, radium was a miracle cure, Madame Curie an international celebrity, and luminous watches the latest rage – until the girls who painted them began to fall ill with a mysterious disease. Inspired by a true story, Radium Girls traces the efforts of Grace Fryer (played by Isobel Holland), a dial painter, as she fights for her day in court. Her chief adversary is her former employer, Arthur Roeder (Rufus Froy), an idealistic man who cannot bring himself to believe that the same element that shrinks tumours could have anything to do with the terrifying rash of illnesses among his employees. As the case goes on, however, Grace finds herself battling not just with the U.S. Radium Corporation, but with her own family and friends, who fear that her campaign for justice will backfire.
Written with warmth and humour, Radium Girls is a fast-moving, highly-theatrical ensemble piece for nine to ten actors, who play more than thirty parts – friends, co-workers, lovers, relatives, attorneys, scientists, consumer advocates, and myriad interested bystanders. Called a “powerful” and “engrossing” drama by critics, Radium Girls offers a wry, unflinching look at the peculiarly American obsessions with health, wealth, and the commercialisation of science.
Performances are being held in the Hayward Theatre on:
🔹 Thursday, February 8th at 7pm
🔹 Friday, February 9th at 7pm
🔹 Saturday, February 10th at 2.30pm
🔹 Saturday, February 10th at 7pm
Tickets are £6 for adults and £4 for concessions.
Visit the Box Office to book yours: www.kingsely.org/news-events/box-office/