Village Squire, 1979-07, Page 30shaken condition and went back on stage
for the second act, doing such a good job of
covering for the missing actress that many
in the audience wondered just what part
she had played in the second half.
The incident tended to dampen the
enthusiasm of everyone on that opening
night but didn't cover the fact that This
Foreign Land is another popular example
of James Roy's policy of presenting theatre
relevent to the people of Western Ontario
at the Blyth Summer Festival. Researched
and written by Patricia Mahoney with a
collective creating being done by members
of the company, the play follows the
experiences both happy and sad of the
immigrants who have come to Western
Ontario since the Second World War. It
concentrates particularly on three families,
.one Dutch, one German and one Polish
who decided to leave war-torn Europe and
make their way to a new, unknown land.
The play's two acts deal with that first
decision and its consequences on first
arriving in Canada in the first act set in
1951 and follows the progress of the new
Canadians in this foreign land into the
present in 1979.
There can be a little confusion for the
audience in the first few minutes as the
actors switch around roles, first as the
Dutch families, then with a quick change to
a German one and finally as a Polish
mother and son. After a few minutes of
adjustment however the audience seems to
grasp what is going on and warm to the
characters.
If there was a lack of realism in the
switching of roles and in the bare stage
units that were used to represent many
different settings from the Netherlands to
ship railings to farm trucks there was no
lack of realism on the part of the actors
when it came to language. In those early
difficult years when the newcomers didn't
know the language of their new country the
problems were made evident by the fact
the actors did such a good job imitating the
languages of their characters, be it Dutch.
German or Polish. One ,old Dutch
gentleman sitting near us in the audience
almost cheered when the Dutch character
on stage finally managed to get across to a
Canadian farmer what he wanted to say.
Obviously, the struggle brought back
memories.
The wave of immigration in the late
1940's and early 1950's changed the face of
rural Western Ontario yet its a phenomen-
um that has gone unrecorded in the arts.
During the research period the writer and
actors discovered that while they have
some harrowing tales to tell of their early
days, these adopted Canadians are now
among the most patriotic of all Canadians.
The story they tell is essentially a happy
one, one of happiness and prosperity at the
end of years of struggle.
But the story is not all happiness. The
final act tells of the hurt on the part of the
older generation, the generation that made
the hard transition, that the good life they
worked so hard for is not the life their
children often want. A man works all his
life to build up a good farm to give to his
son, then is rejected by a son who doesn't
want to farm. The bewilderment on the
part of the father is one of the most
touching moments of the play.
This Foreign Land may be one of the
most important productions the Blyth
Summer Festival has produced in its five
year history. One on hand it is reaching a
new audience many of whom have not been
in the habit of going to theatre but may be
interested in seeing their story told on
stage. On the other hand the production
can build understanding among the regular
theatre patrons of what it must have been
like for their neighbours to come to this
land without friends, without jobs, without
even the comfort of knowing the language.
And on top of all that, it's just plain
enjoyable with good humour, good music
and some heartfelt emotion and a cast that
is uniformly talented. And what makes it
especially enjoyable is that it's all based on
true stories told by these new Canadians.
0
Gerrard's
YOUR IN -TOWN
SHOPPING CENTRES
LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU
GODERICH- CLINTON - MITCHELL
r
Shop the store most convenient to you
11110111M
1I \H1.1 \
r
28 Village Squire, July 1979