“I had responsibilities to my shareholders,” says the boss of the Radium company towards the close of this important, ambitious play.
He is talking about the reason he has refused to publicly acknowledge the company is killing its workers in the interests of making money for the rich, despite knowing how deadly the work is for the young women working for him.
How do we know he knew? Well, the man who invented uses for the substance had told him, and his own company had released a guidance warning about the dangers of the substance.
Radium Girls accurately details this appalling story of corporate greed killing its workforce in 1920s America.
Bravely, a number of the women decided to take the company to court for compensation and to stop it from killing people. The company's response was to smear the reputation of the women it killed by having its alleged medics say they died of the sexually transmitted disease of syphilis. They also used the law to claim the women’s claims were made too late, and got dying workers to sign confidentiality clauses in exchange for a small amount of money.
This tight, well performed piece shocks and holds the audience’s attention. In particular, Isobel Holland is very effective as the determined Grace Fryer having to make a stand not only against the corporation but also her friends and family who at times urge her to settle.
Between the scenes on the striking stage set, we are reminded of the horror inflicted knowingly on the women by the rapid, ominous clicking sound of a Geiger counter.
It’s an important story, but surely from a long time ago no longer applicable to our bright modern times. Would employers in the UK put profits before lives? And even if there were any similarities then British Law is really tough. Just look at how it sent five environmental protesters to prison for three and five years for having a Zoom chat about blocking a road to save people's lives from the fossil fuel companies, who feel no urgency to stop causing climate change, which is already killing people.
But then the fossil fuel executives have been known to say, “I had responsibilities to my shareholders”.