Fringe 2011: In Dying Hard, Mikaela Dyke, a riveting actor, gives first-hand accounts of miners and their families

We all whine about how demanding our jobs are, what tyrants we have for bosses. Dying Hard could cure us of that forever. Mikaela Dyke, a riveting actor, has adapted for the stage six of Elliott Leyton’s first-hand accounts of miners and their families in 1975, whose lives were both supported and destroyed by Newfoundland’s fluorspar mines. Men went underground to earn a living only to wind up with silicosis or cancer or bodies crippled from accidents. Their wives, already caring for children, ended up looking after their husbands as well and stretching inadequate compensation cheques beyond the breaking point. Some of these people stayed positive, others turned bitter. None escaped the legacy of mining. Dyke’s characterizations are vivid and telling, and her use of verbatim theatre technique, in which interviewees’ exact words are used for the script, is thrilling. Only one — old Pat Sullivan — needs work: his accent is so thick that much of what he says is incomprehensible. While the show has some humour, and the fortitude of these people is inspiring, Rebecca Flynn has the final word: “We have a thick graveyard, a fat graveyard.”

Fringe festival tickets and information: 613-232-6162, ottawafringe.com.