A Timed Speed Read of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Trial Transcript With Additional Notes is a verbatim theatre piece presented by Surplus Production Unit as part of the 10th Annual Mayworks Halifax Festival of Working People and the Arts. The show was conceived by Alex McLean and plays at the Bus Stop Theatre until June 2, 2018.
This piece is, in many ways, just as the title suggests, three actors (Kat McCormack, Briony Merritt and Richie Wilcox) read the transcript from the 1911 trial of People Vs. Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, an iPad timer is set and the audience is able to see whether the actors are able to beat their best time of telling this important story. There are also additional notes. What isn’t apparent in the title is how theatrical this speed-read becomes, and also, how much time Wilcox, McCormack and Merritt take, at times, to really create the dramatic tension and nuance that brings the characters of the Prosecution and Defence lawyers, the witnesses, the accused, and the judge to life.
On March 25 1911 146 people, mostly young women and girls, were killed in a fire at the Triangle Waist Company in New York City, mostly on the 9th Floor of a ten storey high-rise. One of the reasons for so many casualties was that one of the exit doors to the factory was locked by the owners, a tactic used by many factory owners at the time in attempt to reduce theft. The tragedy led to improved factory safety standards, and led to the rise of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union.
Wilcox, McCormack, and Merritt take turns playing different characters, sometimes capturing beautifully the harrowing testimony of survivors, which really give us a dramatic picture of the chaos inflicted upon these workers as they struggled to try to save their own lives, and the lives of their siblings and their friends. Sometimes they inhabit the patient Prosecutor, whose words and perspective speak to justice and common sense, and sometimes they play the Defence Lawyer, who, like a cartoon character, spins and does acrobatics of logic, trying to turn an action as simple as turning a doorknob into a mystery that cannot possibly be proven beyond reasonable doubt. The play examines not just the facts of the fire, but the ways the witnesses were cross examined, where the holes were punched into the facts by the Defence, and how the privilege and power of the two “Shirtwaist Kings,” white men who had been in America longer and who, by 1911, had made quite a bit of money, gave them an advantage over the young women (many of whom were much more recent immigrants) testifying against them.
The piece begins with a stack of papers, taller than all the actors, which they begin to dismantle, reading from the stack, but also finding surprises within the tower as well, props, and a few unexpected asides, which helps us to connect this case with our own present reality. The trial itself, where the bias of justice is on such flagrant display, is depressingly familiar. The actors connect the dots for us between this fire, the rise of the unions, the rise of female activists, and the call for female suffrage, both in the United States and here in Canada. They also point to the garment industry as still being a problematic place, for both workers and also for the environment, which are both issues that are usually buried beneath multibillion dollar fashion advertising.
At a time where we so often take our safety for granted and forget that unions are largely responsible for ensuring our workplaces have sufficient unlocked fire escapes and adhere to specific safety standards, the Mayworks Festival and plays like this are an important reminder of how far we have come as a society that takes care of its citizens and its workers, but it also is clear that many aspects of our legal system, and the power imbalance inherent in Capitalism have not changed at all in over a century. This tragedy galvanized workers to stand up and demand change, and it had an impact that reached beyond the garment industry, and helped workers in all sweatshops and women more generally have a stronger voice and begin to have some power in politics. It’s an inspiring reminder of what good can come from people standing together and demanding to be heard, to be considered, to be included, and that even if initially justice doesn’t prevail, sometimes the larger victory is just around the corner.
The Closing Performance of A Timed Speed Read of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Trial Transcript With Additional Notes is at 7:30pm on June 2, 2019 at the Bus Stop Theatre (2203 Gottingen Street). For tickets visit this website. For more information about MayWorks Halifax Click Here.
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