Chamber Theatre has reimagined classic plays, dramas, comedies and tragedies for the last 10 years. This month, the theater company is using a Greek tragedy to tell the story of a group of Eastern Kentucky women fighting for their families in the 1930s.
“The Harlan Women” is a modern take on “The Trojan Women” by Euripides from around 415 BCE. The Greek play is set after the Trojan War and follows the lives of Trojan wives and children of Troy’s defeated leaders.
“The story represents a lot of women who are left behind after their husbands are killed in the war and they're being taken captive,” said Chamber Theatre artistic co-director Michelle Lori. “But they're strong, and they stand together. They stand in solidarity for as long as they can.”
Lori said she and local actor James Thompson first began exploring the idea of bringing that storyline to a Louisville stage last summer. She said Thompson approached her with a plan to use the Greek tragedy to highlight another group of women: the wives of Harlan coal miners during the coal wars in the 1930s.
During the Great Depression, Harlan County mine operators slashed miner salaries by 10 percent. When the miners went on strike and tried to unionize, local, state and federal authorities used violence to thwart their efforts. Many who pushed back against their bosses also lost their coal company-owned housing.
“And miners were killed by their coal bosses,” Lori said. “So the women aren't out there fighting with arms, but they are standing up and protesting and gaining that kind of attention for justice for their people.”
“The Harlan Women” picks up the story from there, Lori said. The play follows a similar structure to a Greek tragedy, including a chorus who sings, chants and/or plays instruments to provide more context throughout the play.
The audience can also participate in the production. “The Harlan Women” features protest songs and gospel hymns, and the audience can sing along with printed copies of the lyrics.
One of the songs, “Which Side are You On?”, was written by Harlan native Florence Reese, whose husband was a union organizer during the coal wars.
“While it's a heavy play, there are also some light moments and some congregational or community singing that happens,” Lori said.
“The Harlan Women” will be performed at Louisville Visual Arts’ outdoor green space on Sept. 11-13.
‘Universal truths’
The show is an hour and 35 minutes long and includes 15 cast members. Some of them are from Eastern Kentucky and use their experience to add to the story of Harlan, Lori said.
“[The play is] dealing with some universal truths,” Lori said. “Just the fact that justice is not being fairly brought to folks and people are being unfairly charged for crimes when it's not really crimes that are being committed.”
Lori said the play feels very connected to the current political climate in the United States.
U.S. reliance on coal mining has drastically decreased in recent decades, leaving much of Appalachia in economic distress. For those who continue to work in mines, health and safety concerns remain, and federal support for health protections is unsteady
Earlier this year, West Virginia coal miners filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for cuts to a program that screens miners for black lung. Last month, a federal judge ruled in favor of the miners and issued an injunction to HHS to restore the program.
For Lori, “The Harlan Women” pays homage to the continued fight for coal miners’ rights.
“The fact that these universal themes are still happening, you want to hope that the injustice is going to be figured out and that there will be justice someday, but it's a cycle,” she said.
