Rosebud play honours war nurses
By Laureen F. Guenther Times Contributor
Bluebirds, a play honouring First World War Canadian nurses, will be performed in Rosebud the weekend after Remembrance Day.
Amy Pohl, a fourth-year Rosebud School of the Arts (RSA) student, is producing and performing the play as her Final Project.
Bluebirds, by Governor General’s Award-winning Canadian playwright Vern Thiessen, tells the stories of three young Canadian women – Gladys Wake, Katherine Macdonald and Margaret Lowe – who served as nurses at a hospital in Étaples, France.
“These are real women,” Pohl said. “The text in the play actually explains why they came (to serve in France), based on journals and family stories. I’m very excited to be able to tell stories about real women.”
She said she chose the play because it gives an opportunity to remember the stories of war, and to showcase the skills of today’s women.
“If we forget war and what happened in war, we’re going to lose something, part of our identity,” she said. “It’s important to tell these stories about the effects war has, with those returning home, honouring the lives of those that sacrificed themselves for the freedom that you and I probably take for granted.”
The Bluebirds cast and crew are all women, and RSA faculty member Jeany Van Meltebeke is directing the show. Heidi MacDonald plays the role of Margaret Lowe, called Maggie. Glenda Graham performs the role of Gladys Wake, known as Babs. Pohl herself plays the role of Katherine Macdonald, nicknamed Christy, with whom she most closely identifies.
“Her faith got her through the war,” Pohl said of Christy. “She says in the play, ‘Nothing like a good Bible verse to calm your nerves, that’s what I say.’”
In a “very heavy scene” when the hospital is being bombed, Christy recites Scripture. “So even in the darkest time … she’s still putting her faith into action.”
Pohl hopes her audience can take comfort and reassurance from this 102-year-old story.
“In all the chaos that we’re going through right now, in our world, that there is perseverance, and you will come out the other side,” she said.
Bluebirds will be performed at Rosebud’s BMO Studio Stage, at 6 p.m. on Nov. 14, and 1 p.m. on Nov. 15.
COVID-19 protocols will be strictly followed. All guests must pre-register and are asked to wear masks, and physically distanced seating will be assigned.
Email anotherhamproduction@gmail.com for tickets or more information.
“(Bluebirds is) an opportunity to honour those that came before us,” Pohl said. “And to those in the military and in nursing: you are here, you are valued and this is a story for you.”