Jim Watts: Girl Reporter

Jim Watts: Girl Reporter by Canadian playwright Beverley Cooper was commissioned and first produced in August 2024 by 4th Line Theatre directed by their Artistic Director Kim Blackwell. The play opens in 1930s Toronto and centres around the real-life character of Jim (Jean) Watts, who was a fiery, non-conventional, self-identifying bisexual young woman, deeply involved in leftist politics. Jim is angered by the deep income and class disparities endured by millions of people during the Depression. When Civil War breaks out in Spain, Jim is adamant that she should fight for the democratically elected Socialist government. Since women can’t travel to Spain as soldiers, Jim applies for a job with the Toronto Daily Clarion newspaper which sends her over as their star reporter. Jim Watts eventually drives an ambulance into the action, making her the only woman to officially join the Canadian unit in Spain, the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion.

Jim Watts: Girl Reporter is a large-cast play written for 4th Line Theatre’s expansive outdoor venue.  Jim travels from Toronto to Madrid, from political rallies to the battlefields of Spain. The cast features a number of familiar characters, including Edward Cecil-Smith, commander of the Mac-Paps, Ernest Hemingway, Martha Gellhorn, and Dr. Norman Bethune. We also follow the incredible story of another Mac-Pap, Jim Higgins, who saves the life of a young Spanish boy during the bombing of Corbera d’Ebre. 

The play is a fascinating exploration of the experience of trailblazing Canadians who illegally flocked to Spain to fight fascism, attempting to stop its political march across Europe. Through the story of Jim Watts, Cooper explores the question: can one person make a difference in the world? 

BC