Season
1975-76
Play
I.W.A.: The Newfoundland Loggers’ Strike of 1959
Run Dates
November 4, 1975
November 6, 1975–November 9, 1975
Header image features: Wayne McNiven, Rhonda Payne, Jeff Pitcher, Ron Hynes. Photo courtesy of Archives & Special Collections at Memorial University Libraries.
Playwright
Director
Cast
- Rick Boland Performer
- Jeff Pitcher Performer
- Donna Butt Performer
- Rhonda Payne Performer
- Wayne McNiven Performer
- Ron Hynes Performer/Musician
- Ray Landry Performer
- Pam Morgan Performer
Crew
- Frank LaPointe Set Designer
Description
In 1959, the International Woodworkers of America (I.W.A.) led a strike against the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company (A.N.D. Co.). The workers sought better conditions and wages. When the show opened, the strike remained a hot political issue.
In his 1988 book, A Public Nuisance: A History of the Mummers Troupe, Chris Brookes describes poor conditions in Newfoundland logging camps, and the need for stronger regulation. The I.W.A. sought for Newfoundland loggers to be treated equal to loggers elsewhere in Canada. But when a strike in Badger, N.L. turned into a riot resulting in the death of a police officer, the union was viewed as radical, and was decertified by then-premier Joey Smallwood. Sixteen years later, the Mummers Troupe toured logging communities around the province to bring awareness to this scarcely-talked-about post-Confederation historical event, and the struggles that logging workers continued to face.
Production type
- Mummers Troupe Production