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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1982-08-04, Page 8theatre. . Lueknow Sentinel, Wednesday, 'August 4, 1982—Page 7 . La Sagouine a hit at Blyth Festival • BY JOANNE BUCHANAN The Scrubwoman• (La Sagouine), one -woman show starring Viola Leger which opened at the Blyth Sumer festival last' nri Tuesday evening, is a sen- sitive production. It is both funny . and pidlosophical, offering a glirripse at life as seen through the eyes of a poor Acadian scrubwoman who lives in a shack, wears hand-rrie-downs from her wealthy clients and spends most of her life on all fours cleaning up other peoples' dirt. In the ,opening scene, the scrubwoman talks about her trade and observes that her face may be dirty and cracked but her hands are white because they spend most of their time in a pail of water. And she reminisces about her once youthful good looks ("I ..didn't make, anybody Sick," she says). The scenes which follow are perhaps the fumilest in the whole play. They deal with religion (The Pews) and government (The Census). The scrubwoman notes that maybe she doesn't have much (she's not even sure about her nationality) but she is alive and the gover- nment cannot take that away from her. The second act features two scenes, one on Spring and one on death. In the Spring scene, the audience is enchanted by .the simple joy felt by the scrubwoman as she observes the melting snow and a flock of geese. She doesn't even have a calendar but she senses the time of year and memories of past Spring seasons come flooding back to her as she •recilitrees\ • of Kathleen's escape from the Belfast • shims. The promise of even greater fort- • unes in Upper Canada, brought Sean • Kelly and his bride to Toronto. Now • that she could afford the luxury of a higher• education, she became a proficient academic, a student of social etiquette and a musician. It • appeared that what she lacked in love she gained in the experience of life. When Sean Kelly succumbed to pneu- monia and left her with his entire wealth, she was not so foolish as to be • hoodwinked into sharing her sub- stance with the fortune hunters who • plied her with false compliments.. Pretty she was not, but smart she certainly was. When lan Jamieson returned to finalize the payment on the organ intended for the church at Redtrees, breathes in the fresh air (for example, she remembers her husband when he was young and handsome and . had all his teeth). In Spring, One. can look forward to summer and it's not always having something that is so good but looking forward to having something, she tells the audience. In the final, perhaps most moving scene, the scrub- woman reveals her aches and pains and talks of her dead children (of 12 born to her, only three lived). Antonine Maillet, the Acadian -born author of The Scrubwoman, gives Viola Leger many beautiful lanes to deliver and with her hoarse voice and French accent, Miss Leger is so convincing as the scrub- woman that even when she takes her bow at the end of the performance, one cannot. • picture her as anyone else. She was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, an Acadian enclave near Boston, but returned to Moncton to at- tend college. Since that time, she has been performing The Scrubwoman (La Sagouine) on stage, along with its sequel (La Sagouine II) on television as a Radio -Canada series and on disc for London Records. She has toured Canada and abroad as La Sagouine in the French language version. The English translation' premiered last year in Montreal and also played in Toronto. La Sagouine runs in repertory at the Blyth Summer Festival until August 20. The last per- formance will be Viola Leger's 100th English language show. • by don carnpbell • he was invited into a small but • tastefully furnished room at the back • of the store, for tea with the 'owner. Deep down in the inner feelings of lan Jamieson, a fantastic plan had begun to formulate. His secret fear was that she might be a Roman Catholic, and this most certainly would have shattered his dreams. It was a misconception amongst settlers, that. all Irish ' people were Roman Catholic, and Jamieson, equally pre- judiced against that faith, broached the subject with some delicacy. "I take it ma'am, that you follow the faith of the Catholic Church?" • Kathleen Kelly, laughed. It was a forced gesture and tinged with a trace of anger. • "1 am surprised Captain Jamieson • you would assume that I should follow the papal religion. In the city of Jetters to the editor Belfast, Sir, where I was born, most of • the inhabitants are Protestant and I am happy to enlighten you, I am also of that religion." • Having decided that his way was now clear to pursue his original intention, Jamieson began his over- tures which Kathleen Kelly had heard • so many times before from different would-be suitors. She cut him short True she had an indescribable attach - merit for this man, but he after all a stranger and nothing mad be • attained by continuing the convera- tion. She rose to her feet. "It has been most pleasant Mr. Jamieson, and I trust on some other occasion, when I am not so busy/Ye • can talk again." Kathleen Kelly led the way to the door and Jamieson knew he had been swiftly and diplomatically dismissed! Encourage disarmament referendum To the reeve of Lucknow: There are now 57 cities and towns, representing 4 million • Canadian citizens, which are • conducting referenda on balanced disarmament in conjunction with their next munrcipal ele'etions. Maclean's (June 28, 1982) has stated that "the real impact of the (local) referenda has been to force Trudeau, once again, to take up arms control as a matter for his personal diiilomacy" and this even before the votes have taken place. We are writing to ask you to photocopy this letter and enclosures and distribute them to all members of your council. 'Our earnest hope is that your council will conclude that disarmament is the most important issue of all time, that it is a legitimate nriunicipal concern, and that you would be serving your constituents responsibly and exceedingly well if you were to hold a municipal referendum on balanced disarmament. Such decisions give people a democratic voice on an issue that has rapidly risen to the top of the personal agendas of millions of Canadian citizens • We recommend that you canvass church, union, service club, and other opinion leaders in your area. You • will probably find a rnixture of views, but you are .also likely to find very broad support for this idea. The final decision is yours, of course, as every politician nritist ultimately follow his or her conscience, on such grave matters as this. Yours sincerely, '(The original of this letter was co-signed by the following: ) Farley Mowat • Art Eggleton Mayor of Toronto • Pierre Berton Paul ItolcRae, M.P. (Lib.) • Doug Roche, M.P. (P.C.) Ed Broadbent Leader, N.D.P. Mike Harcourt Mayor of Vancouver , Grace Hartman President, C.U.P.E. Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut Holy Blossom Temple Dr. Donald Anderson Canadian Council of Churches Murray Thomson Project Ploughshares Dr. Clarke MacDenaldT. James Stark Secretary, • Operation Dismantle Office of Church and Society • United Church of Canada k.o1r,iiMe Y , .„„„,,„„,„ „,H,„„,,„, II* ,3.3 •70.7 33.7 1980 OLDS CUTLASS SUPREME Brougham, V-8 4 door, with air 1980 OLDS DELTA 88, 2 door 1980 DODGE ST. REGIS, 4 door 1980 ASPEN, 2 door [Special Edition] 1979' ASPEN, 2 door 1977.MONTE cARLO, with air TRUCKS 1979 FORD F100 pickup Expierer. 1979 DODGE TRADESMAN van 1978 CHEV 1/2 TON pickup 1978 DODGE, Carry. Van HAMM'S BLYTH PHONE 5234342 0 1 0 00 # 0 0 0 0 • With us, your business could really go places. See us at • The Bedford Hotel • • Goderich, Ontario • on the 2nd & 4th Tuesday of each month • • NEXT VISIT DATE: August 10, 198 REPRESENTATIVE: PAUL McCUSKER • We're FBDB, and our mandate is to encourage business development • and expansion. If you need backing, air•cl have a problem getting it, try us. 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Van HAMM'S BLYTH PHONE 5234342 0 1 0 00 # 0 0 0 0 • With us, your business could really go places. See us at • The Bedford Hotel • • Goderich, Ontario • on the 2nd & 4th Tuesday of each month • • NEXT VISIT DATE: August 10, 198 REPRESENTATIVE: PAUL McCUSKER • We're FBDB, and our mandate is to encourage business development • and expansion. If you need backing, air•cl have a problem getting it, try us. We offer financing, counselling, management training, and information • about governmerit assistance programs forbusiness.' • Perhaps together we can get your plans moving. 41) FEDERAL BUSINESS BANQUE FEDERALE 1111 DEVELOPMENT BANK DE DeVELOPPEMENT Your success is our only business. For an appointment or further infor- mation on the Bank's servkes esil 271-5650 (collect] or write 1036 Ontario e , St., Stradord, Ontario.