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  • FR

Life during wartime-Prairie sentiment and Spanish flu 

by Leona Teixeira, The McGill Tribune

Can you remember the days when learning did not consist of falling asleep in Leacock 132 while surrounded by 599 of your peers? Do you enjoy history, but shy away from the lengthy lectures and essay ridden survey courses? Would you like to experience a different time period without having to read three novels and a course pack? Or do you simply need a break from midterm studying? If so, set aside two hours and come out and enjoy the new Persephone Production play Unity (1918).
Written by Kevin Kerr, the Governor General's award-winning play follows the lives of the young townspeople of Unity, Saskatchewan at the end of the Great War. It expresses the reverence and excitement of a group of young women towards the war and illustrates the harsh realities experienced by a young soldier as well as the fear induced by the threat of the Spanish flu on a small town.
The Monument National's cozy Studio Hydro Quebec is the perfect location for this intimate play. Though small, it succeeds in creating a warm and personal theatre experience. The unpretentious set and simplistic props are effectual in bringing out the talents of the play's emphatic actors and allow for the audience to appreciate the story without frivolous distractions.
Seamless scene transitions consisting of choice background music and key lighting techniques provide an effective means of moving between settings without losing focus or intensity. The two-tier nature of the stage also decreases the potential for stagnancies; the more intricate stationary setting on the upper level eases the set changes on the lower, more dynamic set.
Carefully selected music compliments each scene, heightening the joy and the loss expressed by the players. The lighting during scenes is often misplaced, however, casting large shadows on the actors' delicate faces. This may be done to emphasize the feeling of melancholy during this time of crises, but it could achieve a greater reaction if used less frequently.
The cast is an enthusiastic band of young professionals discovered by the talented director and founder of Persephone Productions, Gabrielle Soskin.
Kathleen Stavert portrays the play's naïve and joyful heroine Beatrice with grace and enthusiasm. She embodies her character so well that as the play progresses the audience not only perceives Bea's emotions, they begin to experience them as well.
Sunna, a sombre grave digger, played by Stephanie Chapman-Baker, does a wonderful job of contrasting the heroine's cheery demeanour. She also adds a fair bit of intensity with her philosophical speeches on death and humanity. Rebecca Croll and Gilda Monreal, the delightful switchboard ladies Rose and Doris, dole out a great deal of comic relief. Hart, played by Aaron Turner, adds a bit of romance, Sissy (Jessica Rose) a little heresy, Mary (Eleanor Young) much heart and Dustin Ruck and Christopher Moore a few tears.
When asked for the signs of a successful production Soskin replied, "The actor's job is to make people believe that who they are, is in fact who they are. If you leave the theatre thinking that you were part of that reality then they have done their job." The direction and calibre of the actors in Unity (1918) does just that. The expert interpretation and fresh talent submerses its audience in the joys, fears and excitements of the characters and takes them on a journey into a community, not unlike our own, in crisis.
So if you find yourself with two hours to spare do not hesitate to head down to the Monument National to catch the artful retelling of Unity (1918). You won't be disappointed.

Persephone Productions Inc
93, Somerville Ave.,
Westmount, Que, H3Z 1J4

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