Canada and the Theatre of War, Vol. 1.

Ian C. Nelson is Assistant Director of Libraries at the University of
Saskatchewan.

Volume 1 of a promised two-volume project is a splendid example of a thematic anthology at its very best. In these days of significant commemorations and highly political social comparisons, interest in the human predilection for violence and warfare has never been higher … nor more critical. The editors note in their introduction that each one of the eight plays included in the volume (five for World War I and three for World War II) “draws on historical facts or documentary evidence.” At the same time the variety of pieces—from the very simply staged to the dauntingly technical—is an equal salute to rich theatrical creativity as, taken together, the pieces “cover as many strategic points as possible.”

From Margaret Hollingsworth’s oft-produced “Ever Loving” to the documentary tribute “The Lost Boys” by R.H. Thomson, the anthology spans subjects from political chicanery and blundering to the resonances of personal loss and love that the theatre of war brings into high relief. How very fitting that the last selection in the volume is Marie Clements’s cutting-edge play “Burning Vision”; set in Canada’s north and mushroom-clouded Japan, it’s a psychologically bipolar history of the atomic bomb. The other titles included are “Soldier’s Heart” by David French, “Mary’s Wedding” by Stephen Massicotte, “Dancock’s Dance” by Guy Vanderhaeghe, “Vimy” by Vern Thiessen, and “None Is Too Many” by Jason Sherman. The two most notable omissions (“Fifteen Miles of Broken Glass” by Tom Hendry and “Billy Bishop Goes to War” by John Gray and Eric Peterson) are explained in a footnote to the introduction.

Better than any purely factual history and chronology, this volume provides a lively and dramatic summary of Canada’s contribution to two horrific wars while the generous notes about the playwrights and the development of each of the plays serve as a model of succinct biography and descriptive dramaturgy. Volume 1 can be recommended highly as we await with anticipation the publication of the Volume 2 under the noteworthy editorship of Donna Coates and Sherrill Grace.