Six Canadian Plays

David E. Kemp is head of the Drama Department at Queen’s University.

This is an updated and reformatted version of Five Canadian Plays, one
of the most popular collections ever published by Playwrights Canada
Press.

Remaining from the original collection are Babel Rap, John Lazarus’s
absurdist look at the building of the Tower of Babel from the viewpoint
of two very ordinary workmen; Heroes, Ken Mitchell’s satirical study
of two heroes—Superman and the Lone Ranger—in crisis; and Ken
Gass’s Hurray for Johnny Canuck, which draws its inspiration from
Canadian World War II comic books. New to this edition are three short
plays with similar themes. Dave Carley’s Hedges is a powerful piece
about Canada’s involvement in arms trading. Moon People, by Aviva
Ravel, is a moving drama about a mother and the now teenage daughter she
gave up for adoption at birth. Sharon Pollock’s The Komagata Maru
Incident is based on a 1914 incident in Canadian history—a steamer
full of East-Indian political immigrants was forbidden to unload its
human cargo by Vancouver immigration officials.

What all these plays successfully do is hold up a mirror to Canadian
society. In looking at both personal and collective values from the turn
of the century through to the present day, the plays question whether
these values have changed for the better or for the worse. Above all,
they give us the opportunity to learn about both ourselves and our
collective consciousness. This collection merits a place on the
bookshelves of all Canadians.