Vimy fights the good fight as humanity shines through
Over a decade ago, James MacDonald directed the world premiere of Vern Thiessen’s Vimy. Set during the First World War, it’s a play about, among other things, memory. So what does MacDonald remember about the play?
“It had a tremendous emotional impact on people,” MacDonald said. “It is a war play, but it’s more about humanity and relationships and people. The other thing I remember is its impact on young people. Unfortunately, war is timeless. There are always young people going off to fight in wars. And this play tells us about that human cost.”
Winnipeg-born Thiessen wrote Vimy to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the April 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge, during which more than 3,500 Canadian soldiers lost their lives. The play is divided into three parts: The first involves soldiers convalescing in a field hospital, the second is their memories of the battle and the third is a re-enactment of the battle.
The soldiers all have different stories to tell and are representative, to a degree, of Canada. (For the record, Thiessen has stated Vimy is “not a
play about war,” but an exploration of the “small moments (that) define us as individuals, as communities and as a nation.”) They include Sid from Manitoba and Will from Ontario, both labourers; Jean-Paul, a Québécois butcher from Montreal; and Mike, a scout from Kainai Nation in Alberta. They are attended on by Clare, a nurse from Nova Scotia who reminiscences about her fiance Laurie, a Highlander who also fought at Vimy.
The cast features Nathan Carroll, Jacob Woike, Mark Ford, Christopher Mejaki, Gaelan Beatty and Lucy McNulty.
“They’re terrific young actors,” MacDonald said. “I did auditions in several places across the country. I take video auditions as well because I’m isolated in Kamloops (MacDonald’s Western Canada Theatre headquarters). This process was unique. You are looking for an emotional connection with these actors. As you look at them, you feel like they understand what it would be like for these soldiers and that nurse at the time.”
Some aspects of the play have taken on greater significance since MacDonald last directed Vimy in 2007 for Citadel Theatre in Edmonton,
“Over a third of Indigenous men signed up to serve in the war,” he said. (According to Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, “it is estimated that well over 4,000 Aboriginal people served in the Canadian Forces during the conflict.”)
“The Indigenous commitment to that conflict at a time when our government, our country, was not treating them well is nothing short of astonishing. When the play was written, you could think, ‘Wow, that’s an interesting statistic.’ Now it is absolutely sobering in light of what we now know was going on with Indigenous people at that time.”
As well, MacDonald feels the role of Clare should be amplified. “She’s the catalyst for a lot of these things. But her story has to be at the forefront of what’s being told.”
Technology has moved on and some theatre companies have sought to harness the new tech for a distracted age. In the final third of the play, MacDonald relies on old-fashioned stagecraft.
“Advanced technology can be very useful if it best suits the project,” he said. “In a play which spans the scope of the time and place of Vimy, however, we couldn’t — and shouldn’t — attempt to compete with CGI or Netflix. There is a brilliant design, including sound and lights, and fog effects to help create the atmosphere of war, but the audience is also allowed to fill in the blanks. And I find that very stirring.”