Albert “Ginger” Goodwin was a coal miner, pacifist and is regarded as a B.C. labour movement hero.
He was killed by Dominion Police near Cumberland when he fled conscription in 1918. His personal story will come to life on Nov. 30 when five actors tell his tale at the Nanaimo Museum, starting at 7:30 p.m. The event, presented by TheatreOne, is a public reading of the draft script, The Ginger Goodwin Story, written by Victoria’s Michael Stephen.
“I have known about Ginger Goodwin for a long time, have always been involved with labour history, and wrote my first play in Toronto about Regent Park. It was soon after that I began reading about mining history and Ginger Goodwin,” said the author, in a press release. “Most literature about Ginger is very archival and academic, but in my way of working, I can humanize the story, bringing it closer to the spirit and the person.”
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the strike that began in 1912, which involved all Vancouver Island coal mines, particularly those in the Nanaimo and Cumberland area.
Actors Catherine Caines, Adrian Hough, Russell Kilde, Jessica Lowry and Matthew Walker perform in the play.