Thoughts of remembrance often evoke the soldiers depicted in brass and stone on war memorials.
But while they may offer an impression of noble perfection, such idealized figures can't adequately represent the ones who did the actual fighting and dying in each conflict.
Unity 1918 – a staged reading presented by Peninsula Productions (Nov. 14 to 17 at the company's black-box studio theatre, Centennial Park) – is a reminder that wars, whether in the front line of combat or on the home front, are fought by flesh and blood, imperfect, human beings.
Kevin Kerr's award-winning 2001 play, directed by Peninsula Productions' artistic director Robert Moloney, takes an uncompromisingly humanistic approach to the last year of the First World War – and to the even deadlier 'Spanish flu' pandemic that followed close on its heels – by focusing on the experience of a small prairie town; Unity, Saskatchewan.
Geographically isolated from the horrors of war – even though not immune from the anguish of death-notice telegrams – the community is about to have all the awfulness of the conflict delivered to its doorstep.
Not only is the town receiving a wave of returning soldiers, many broken physically or mentally – the troops are also bringing home with them a virus that will eventually claim more lives than all the battles fought in four years.
And the flu doesn't simply strike the most vulnerable – such as children and elderly. It can carry off those in the prime of life just as well.
As they receive news of the pandemic spreading rapidly across Canada, the citizens take desperate measures to protect their town – stopping trains, burning mail from overseas, sealing the borders. When these measures can't prevent the virus from entering Unity, people inevitably turn on one another, seeking some scapegoat.
Moloney said he is happy to be working with a dedicated and talented cast for this production that includes Jan Chadburn, Judy Grant, Harrison MacDonald, Takura Munopo, Chantal Gallant, Abrielle Dumansky, Robyn Sanderson, Duncan Minett and Brenda Polidorio.
As a work of theatre exploring all aspects of the human condition, Moloney noted, Unity 1918 isn't just a reminder of the grim realities of a pandemic. The story, which centres on Hart, a returning soldier with no surviving relatives – who has been blinded by mustard gas in the trenches – is also described as a Gothic romance, and a very dark comedy.
"It's a play that's very close to my heart," said Moloney, who took the role of Hart in the 2001 debut production, presented by Vancouver's Touchstone Theatre, for whom Kerr developed it..
"I think Tom Sandborn, writing in the Globe and Mail at the time, summed it up perfectly," he said.
"He said it is a 'powerful, solemn, liturgy that celebrates love, sex, death and the mysteries of war and plague' adding that it is also 'painfully funny.'
"All of us involved in the original production were thrilled when Kevin received the Governor General's Award, and happy to see the play has since gone on to productions the world over.
"It's just an amazing play, and I feel blessed to have been part of it," he said.
"When I became artistic director for Peninsula Productions, and learned that we do a remembrance-themed production in November, it was really a no-brainer to pick this for the season."
Moloney said that appearing in the original production got him interested in the First World War period and the virtually unknown battle with influenza that continued for several years after the end of the war.
He said he did "a ton of research" to get into the psychology of Hart – reading novels of the war, including the classics All Quiet On The Western Front and Goodbye To All That, and even studying with the Canadian National Institute For The Blind (CNIB) to gain a greater understanding of a character who had lost their sight.
But he said he was surprised that there was not much material, other than anecdotes, about the flu epidemic.
"What's interesting is that they did all the things, back then, that became so familiar to us in our recent battle with COVID – the quarantining, wearing masks, the social distancing, the cancelling of events, everything.
"But when it was over it seems nobody wanted to talk about it or write about it. It seemed they just wanted to forget it ever happened."
He said he believes that Kerr, who has Icelandic heritage, was originally inspired by family stories he'd heard about that community's experience on the prairies.
But he feels that in Unity 1918 Kerr has created a work that is universally accessible, and often surprisingly funny, albeit depicting a tragic situation.
And it's that sense of humanity that makes it stand out as a remembrance-themed piece, he said.
"I think it clips along at a really good pace, but the characters are superbly drawn by Kevin, and all unique. And even though it moves along, there are beautiful intimate scenes in which you get to know the characters, and give them a real chance to connect."
Tickets to Unity 1918, presented at 7 p.m. on Thursday (Nov. 14) and Friday (Nov. 15), and 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16 and Sunday, Nov. 17, are $32.09 for all seats.
For more information, visit showpass.com, peninsulaproductions.org, or call 604-536-8335.
