Anzac themes play at Circa
Phyllis JasonSmith (nee Girvan) was an unlikely witness to one of the great horrors of World War Two.
Aged 28, the Irish-born nurse, who had also been a witness to the 1944 D-Day landing, found herself nursing survivors in the Belsen Concentration Camp.
Her daughter, Kate JasonSmith, says the impact of seeing starving and desperately ill men and women had a lifelong impact on her mother.
Phyllis’s story and that of another New Zealander, Geoffrey Bolwell, is part of a play, featuring two solo performances, His/ Herstory at Circa Theatre.
Born in Ireland, Phyllis served in the army, often near the front line, including the Normandy landing. Prior to Belsen she met the love of her life, Jason Smith, in 1944. He pursued Phyllis with the intention of marriage but Kate, who wrote and stars in His/ Herstory, notes there was a big problem.
Raised as a Protestant, Smith was a Catholic and in those days such a marriage was unacceptable in Ireland.
‘‘She would say to him, ‘I can’t marry you because my family would disown me’.’’
It was the sheer horror of what she witnessed at Belsen that made Phyllis change her mind.
Disgusted by evil and determined not to let such intolerance and hatred define her life, Phyllis changed her mind.
Angered by the marriage, her mother refused to talk Phyllis.
The family moved to New Zealand in 1951, living in Pukerua Bay, but her mother never really forgave Phyllis.
’’Until the day she died she never acknowledged my father.’’
It was not until near the end of her life that Phyllis began to talk about Belsen, says Kate.
‘‘My mother was haunted by Belsen, her whole life.’’
Phyllis was one of only three Kiwi women to have been honoured with France’s highest decoration, the Le´gion d’Honneur, for her bravery looking after soldiers in the frontline.
His/Herstory is a double bill featuring a secondĀ one act solo play Milord Goffredo, written and performed by Jan Bolwell.
Bolwell recreates the exploits of her father, Geoffrey Bolwell, in WWII.
His/Herstory runs until May 14 at Circa Theatre. Bookings 801 7992 circa.co.nz