N.B. playwright finds family drama in historic Saint John riot

A new play uses the 1914 Saint John Riot as inspiration. (Source: Provincial Archives of New Brunswick)

A cavalry charged forced back by thousands of people in the heart of Saint John, N.B. Streetcars overturned and left useless on the road. Windows smashed and streetlights going dark in the dead of night. Labour unrest on the eve of the First World War.

It’s the sort of historical moment worthy of a CinemaScope film (or at least a Heritage Minute), but until a movie crew puts together a project, Thomas Hodd is telling the story of the 1914 Saint John Riot on stages across New Brunswick.

“It was a terrifically large labour movement that said a lot about Saint John,” Hodd said. “We don’t tell enough of our own stories. There aren’t enough of us to tell the stories or retell the stories.

“We don’t keep them alive. They’re such amazing stories and worth remembering.”

Hodd’s play, titled “O’Brien,” follows a third-generation Irish family as it tries to eke out a living amid the turmoil leading up to the 1914 riot. The show, produced by Theatre New Brunswick, is touring venues across the province this month.

“I love local stories,” said director Natasha MacLellan. “I also love stories about work. I think that shows where we see people working and their relationship to work tell us a lot about the times we live in, even if they’re historical. So much of it is relevant to us today.

“It’s about the relationship between workers and bosses, which is ever present for people. There are people who make a lot of money who have the power to affect a lot of people’s lives and we’re at their whim to care about us. That’s a precarious place to be.”

The origins of the 1914 riot can be found in the testy relationship between labour and bosses at the street railway in Saint John. Employees formed a union at the railway and the company responded by bringing in illegal workers and accusing the union leader of not following company policy.

“Tensions escalated and escalated,” Hodd said.

The conflict between the workers and the bosses reached its climax in July 1914 when more than 130 employees decided to strike. Thousands of people joined them as they marched in the streets of Saint John.

Some people in the crowd threw rocks at a trolley, prompting the mayor to read the Riot Act and authorize the Royal Canadian Dragoons to disperse the group. The soldiers on horseback tried to break up the gathering, but they were repelled.

“The amazing thing was how few people were injured despite the live ammunition,” Hodd said.

The crowd eventually broke up, but not before garnering headlines across the country. One month later, Canada entered the First World War.

Hodd believes that massive event and the more famous 1919 Winnipeg General Strike often overshadow the events in the Port City. He first heard about it as an historical interpreter for the museum in Saint John when he was a summer student.

“Part of our job was to take objects in the museum and tell their story,” he said. “One of the stories was the Saint John railway strike and riot. I posed as this militia guy who was part of the strike and told the story to visitors. I was amazed I hadn’t heard of it before then.”

Hodd, who previously wrote the play “No Man is an Island,” said he didn’t want to “tell a typical historical drama.” He decided to explore the riot not from the perspective of the public figures in it, but from the point of view of an average family.

“We always talk about history with big important figures where the truth is those big moments don’t happen unless the little moments happen, our everyday decisions,” he said. “It’s very much a family story. It’s also an immigrant story. It’s not just a Saint John story.”

Hodd sees his play as relevant at a time of multiple labour strikes and unions attempting to come together across Canada.

“History can speak to our moment,” he said.

“O’Brien” will run at:

-TNB Open Space Theatre in Fredericton on March 8

-Imperial Theatre in Saint John on March 9

-Riverview Arts Centre in Riverview on March 11

-Carrefour Beausoleil in Miramichi on March 12

-LER Theatre in Dalhousie on March 13

-Carleton North High School in Florenceville-Bristol on March 14

-W.C. O’Neill Arena Complex in Saint Andrews on March 15

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