The Gap

David E. Kemp, a former professor of drama at Queen’s University, is
the author of The Pleasures and Treasures of the United Kingdom.

Ian Ross is “Joe from Winnipeg,” whose humorous commentaries are
regularly broadcast on CBC radio. Ross’s play, fareWel, won the 1997
Governor General’s Award for Drama.

Winnipeg’s flood of 1997 is the backdrop for The Gap, an engaging
exploration of racial identity, romance, and manners. As the river
rises, two brothers—Evan and Chester—are cajoled into sandbag duty
by their father, Saul. The brothers, who are of humble means, find
themselves working to save the expensive house of the middle-class Dawn
and her mother, Vi. As Dawn and Evan work side by side, a mutual
attraction develops, but Evan, as a young Native man, is troubled by
their cultural, political, and lifestyle differences (real or imagined),
which threaten their relationship before it even gets started.

While Ross makes some painfully sharp observations about race, Native
pride, and white guilt, his play is at its core a comedy of manners.
This is one of the most difficult theatrical genres to pull off, but
Ross achieves success through brilliantly written scenes like the
riotous family dinner.