Two plays from Two Planks
Liberation Days proves a well rounded and meaningful production for Two Planks
War changes everything. In the first scene of Liberation Days, a genial Canadian Captain Miles Cavendish ( played by Graham Percy) is doing his job in a Dutch village at the end of the Second World War. He simply wants to know if “everyone is OK.”
Village elder Aaltje de Bruijn (Burgandy Code) reacts with a tirade entirely in Dutch, but its meaning is unmistakable. During the German occupation, citizens of the Netherlands saw loved ones shot, witnessed horrid events, starved and made terrible choices to survive. Her daughter Emma ( Jamie Konchak) translates: “Yes, we’re all right.”
This humorous moment in the Two Planks and a Passion Theatre’s play sets the stage for the strange bedfellows – both figuratively and literally - the liberating Canadian troops and Dutch townsfolk became in 1945. And, while the wartime romantic triangle is predictable, it is honest. These things happened. In the strong hands of Devin MacKinnon, who plays the fresh-faced Canadian Private Alex King, and Jeff Schwager, who plays returning lover Jan van Egmond, the story is well wrought.
While the worst of the tragedy is over and given some artful direction by Ken Schwartz, the wrenching moments are balanced with just enough levity to remind us that, as written in a note found with the gramophone and classical records left by a departing Nazi officer, “there is beauty still.”
Schwartz finds meaning in plays with an historical lens, such as his award- winning production 937, which showcases the flight of Jewish refugees in 1939. Calgary playwright David van Belle has provided him with a gem in Liberation Days.
Particularly tragic are the characters of Marijke (Stephanie MacDonald), a villager punished for the love she bore a German soldier, and the former prisoner Jan, who must describe his worst trauma in Berlin.
The characters and their situations remind us that war changes people irrevocably. The Reformed Dutch Church dominee, played by Ryan Rogerson, for example, is just one of the characters seeking equilibrium.
The twists and turns of the human heart are bravely illustrated in this play about history that is about to disappear from living memory. Accuracy was important in the production; a 96- year- old veteran advised the production, while cast musician Frietzen Kenter was a vital Dutch language consultant.
Two Planks and its director must be applauded for taking on this production. It tells an important story that should be witnessed. The only off putting note for me was the staging of the three musicians directly facing the audience.
Liberation Days runs at The Ross Creek Centre for the Arts until Aug. 13. The talkback series in the gallery will feature Dr. Paul Doerr on Canada’s Role in the Liberation of Holland, which takes place on Aug. 3.
Storytelling brings the Mary Celeste back to life
There are so many stories about the doomed brigantine Mary Celeste that most of us have at least vaguely heard of her. Now, these tales have produced ribald entertainment around a roaring fire.
Schwartz has outdone himself this time. Of all the Fireside tales he’s presented, this nautical tale is the most rollicking and enjoyable.
Schwartz has called this fireside storytelling a meditation on what truth is and how we understand it, but also showcases fabulous storytelling by actors who chose a scenario to relate on the spot. Talk about keeping the plot fresh.
From the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts, one can see Spencer’s Island across the Bay of Fundy, where maestro Graham Percy tells us the Mary Celeste was built and launched. In December 1872, the ship was found adrift off the Azores.
Sailing under the American flag, the brig had departed New York City on Nov. 7. Amply provisioned, her cargo of alcohol was intact. But the captain and his wife, their twoyear-old daughter, the crew of seven and the lifeboat were gone.
Later, at salvage hearings in Gibraltar, the court’s officers considered various possibilities of foul play, including mutiny, piracy by the Canadian vessel that found her or others, and a conspiracy to carry out insurance or salvage fraud. No convincing evidence was found to support any theory, but speculation abounded.
Schwartz seized the complications and gave them voice. There is even a possible attack by a giant squid. The hilariously dry Jeff Schwager produced a skulking vampire on opening night.
In 1884, the Mary Celeste was deliberately run aground on a Haitian reef. The same year, a young Arthur Conan Doyle, who was a ship’s doctor, wrote a short story about the ghost ship and subsequently much fiction was produced about her. There is even an episode of Dr. Who written about the boat.
Today at Spencer’s Island, the vessel and her lost crew are commemorated with a monument at her construction site. They are also brought to life again at Ross Creek with late evening abandon.
On July 19, the talkback series will feature nautical expert and Berwick native Dan Conlin, who will talk about the true history of the Mary Celeste.