Dear Canada: Letters From the Second World War
I am thrilled to be working again alongside brilliant artist and advocate Miranda Mulholland on a second Remembrance Day theatre piece, Dear Canada: Letters from The Second World War, premiering at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on November 11th. An earlier commemoration, Letters From The Great War: A Commemoration of the First World War, debuted live at Soulpepper Theatre in November of 2018 and was adapted for streaming for the NAC in 2020.
Dear Canada: Letters from the Second World War is “an artistic Remembrance Day commemoration presented as a radio play with music and foley using real letters from Canadians during the Second World War.” The show includes letters between lovers, parent and child, friends, and more. Each one firmly places the audience in the thick of the moment, whether it’s landing on the beach on D-Day, having a surprise drink with the King of England, surviving the horrific conditions of labour camps abroad and displacement camps here in Canada, translating the so-called Cree code or attending a dance with Irving Berlin in attendance. The letters are full of pathos and humanity, interspersed with live music, both contemporary and of the era. When I was a student, Remembrance Day was always a big deal, and as an adult, I’ve never quite found a substitute for the assembly and how it affected me. Dear Canada: Letters from The Second World War fills that need for me, and I hope it does for others, as well.
This time around I am thrilled that in addition to acting as dramaturg, I will be joining the cast, consisting of the very talented Julian Taylor, Patricia O’Callaghan, Jamie Drake, Tak Arikushi, and of course, Miranda Mulholland. We would love to see you in Ottawa on November 11th. Stay tuned for potential streaming details!