Sam Thompson (playwright) facts for kids

Sam Thompson (born May 21, 1916 – died February 15, 1965) was a famous playwright from Northern Ireland. He was best known for his plays Over the Bridge and Cemented with Love. These plays were quite bold for their time. Over the Bridge talked about sectarianism, which is when people from different religious groups dislike or fight each other. Cemented with Love showed problems with political corruption. Sam Thompson's plays were a new way of showing real-life issues in Northern Ireland, especially about violence between groups, even before the time known as The Troubles began.

Early Life and Work

Sam Thompson was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in an area called Ballymacarrett. His family was working-class and Protestant. He was the seventh of eight children. His father worked as a lamp-lighter and also helped at a church.

When Sam was just 14, he started working as a painter in the big shipyards in Belfast, like Harland and Wolff. After the Second World War, he worked for the Belfast Corporation (a local government body). Many of his plays were inspired by his experiences working in these places.

Thompson believed strongly in socialism, which is about everyone being equal and sharing resources. He was also a dedicated trades unionist, meaning he supported workers' rights. He even became a shop steward at the Belfast Corporation, helping workers with their issues. He stood up against unfair treatment based on religion, and this actually caused him to lose his job. In 1964, he tried to become a Member of Parliament for the Labour party in the South Down area, but he didn't win.

He married May Thompson in 1947. Sam Thompson had a heart attack in 1961 and sadly passed away from another heart attack in 1965. He is buried in Belfast City Cemetery.

How Sam Thompson Started Writing

Sam Thompson began writing when he was 39 years old, in 1955. A writer and radio producer named Sam Hanna Bell heard Sam telling stories about his life in the shipyard while they were in a pub. Bell encouraged him to write for the radio.

His very first radio piece was a documentary called Brush in Hand. It was about learning to be a painter in the shipyard and was broadcast on BBC Northern Ireland in 1956.

After that, he wrote several more radio plays and documentaries for the BBC:

• Tommy Baxter, Shopsteward (1957) was about a trade union official facing unfair treatment from his bosses.
• The General Foreman (1958) explored the tough job of a foreman, who had to deal with both managers and workers.
• The Long Back Street (1959) was a personal story about growing up in Ballymacarrett, describing poverty and violence between different groups.

By 1959, Sam Thompson became a full-time playwright and even an actor. He also wrote a documentary called A Bed for the Night, where he interviewed people staying in a homeless shelter in Belfast. Another radio series he wrote was The Fairmans: Life in a Belfast Working Family (1960–1).

The Play That Caused a Stir: Over the Bridge

Over the Bridge is Sam Thompson's most famous play for the stage. It tells the sad story of a conflict between different religious groups in a shipyard. In 1958, Thompson offered the play to James Ellis, who was the director of the Ulster Group Theatre. Thompson supposedly told him, "I got a play you wouldn't touch with a bargepole!" But Ellis liked it and started getting ready to put it on in April 1959.

However, the theatre's board of directors, led by J. Ritchie McKee, refused to produce the play. They said in the Belfast Telegraph newspaper that it was "full of grossly vicious phrases and situations" and would "offend and affront every section of the public." They also stated that their policy was to keep "political and religious controversies off our stage." Because of this, James Ellis and many actors from the Ulster Group Theatre quit and started their own company. Thompson also successfully sued the Board for breaking their agreement.

Over the Bridge finally opened at the Empire Theatre in Belfast on January 26, 1960. James Ellis directed it, and famous actors like J. G. Devlin, Joseph Tomelty, and Harry Towb starred in it. Sam Thompson even played a small role himself. The play was a huge success! About 42,000 people watched it during its six-week run, which was more than any play had ever attracted in Belfast before.

The play also did very well when it toured in Dublin and Glasgow. It was also performed in Edinburgh, Brighton, and London's West End. Later, Over the Bridge was made into a television show by Granada and a radio play by the BBC in Belfast.

Many years later, people still thought the play was very important. Sam Hanna Bell wrote that the play "dragged" the problem of sectarianism "before the floodlights." Critics like James McAleavey called Over the Bridge and the arguments around it "a landmark in the cultural history of Northern Ireland" and said it was "prophetic of the Troubles to follow." This means it seemed to predict the difficult times that were coming.

Thompson's next stage play was The Evangelist (1963). It was about a religious revival in Ulster in 1859 and looked at how some people might take advantage of religious feelings. This play wasn't as controversial or as successful as Over the Bridge.

Another Controversial Play: Cemented with Love

Sam Thompson's television play Cemented with Love also caused a lot of discussion. It was a dark comedy about dishonest election practices, like bribery, gerrymandering (unfairly changing voting areas), and personation (pretending to be someone else to vote). The play criticized both Unionist and Nationalist political parties.

It was supposed to be shown during the 1964 general election year, but the BBC in Belfast kept delaying it because of protests. After a campaign led by the producer from BBC London, Cemented with Love finally aired in May 1965 as part of The Wednesday Play series. This was just a few months after Sam Thompson had passed away. The play was later adapted for the stage in 1966 by Tomás MacAnna.

Before he died, Thompson had also started writing another stage play called The Masquerade, which was set in London.

Honoring Sam Thompson

On January 26, 2010, a special blue plaque was put up at Montrose Street South in Ballymacarrett, Belfast. This was the house where Sam Thompson was born. The plaque was unveiled on the 50th anniversary of the first performance of his famous play Over The Bridge.

The Sam Thompson Bridge

On October 10, 2013, a new landmark bridge in East Belfast was named the Sam Thompson bridge. This bridge connects Victoria Park to the old shipyards. People voted for the name, and Sam Thompson was the most popular choice, getting 44% of the votes. This bridge cost £500,000 and is part of a bigger project called the Connswater Community Greenway, which is building a £35 million greenway in East Belfast.

Sam Thompson's Works

Stage Plays

• Over the Bridge (1957)
• The Evangelist (1963)
• The Masquerade (not produced)

Television Plays

• Cemented with Love (1965)
• The Teabreakers (unknown)

Radio Plays and Documentaries

• Brush in Hand (1956)
• Tommy Baxter, Shopsteward (1957)
• The Island Men
• The General Foreman (1958)
• The Long Back Street (1959)
• The Fairmans: Life in a Belfast Working Family (1960–1)
• A Bed for the Night

Images for kids

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  Sam Thompson bridge, Victoria Park, Belfast