Radium Girls is ready to take the stage by storm at Marilyn I. Walker Theatre.

The show, which features students from Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts, premieres Friday and runs until March 10 at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in downtown St. Catharines.

The play, by D.W. Gregory, is set between 1918 and 1926, and tells the true story of the men and women who worked for the U.S. Radium Corporation in Orange, N.J.

During that time, an alarming number of female factory workers fell ill, contracting radiation poisoning from the luminous paint they applied to watch dials.

U.S. Radium denied all liability and suppressed information that supported the women’s claim of negligence.

The story continues to resonate in the modern political landscape.

“Today, the excitement of innovation and the opportunity to make money results in ordinary workers around the world being exposed to deadly substances,” said Philip McKee, the production’s director. “This is especially true in the global south where the laws which protect labourers in more developed countries don’t apply.”

The protagonists of the play discover that “laws cannot guarantee our safety or our guiltlessness, as there will always be ways in which laws can be manipulated or ignored,” McKee said.

“Radium Girls helps us to see that we are ultimately dependent on the ethics and good intentions of individuals to protect ourselves and others from harm.”

Radium Girls

• Where: Marilyn I. Walker Theatre in the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, St. Catharines
• When: March 3, 4, 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m.; March 5 at 2 p.m.; and March 10 at 11:30 a.m.
• Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and students, and $10 for groups of 10 or more people. Applicable taxes and fees are extras.
• To order tickets, call 905-688-0722 or visit firstontariopac.ca