War seen through women's eyes

When we think of war, the first images that come to mind are shattering Hollywood-style explosions and flying debris fuelled by a masculine God-and-country patriotic fervour.

Canadian playwright John Murrell’s Waiting for the Parade has none of that. It’s more subdued and definitely reflective. It’s told not from the male point of view, but from the women left behind to raise children, keep factories operational and bolster young solders as they leave for the killing fields.

As a woman, I can tell you that St. Albert Theatre Troupe’s debut production of Waiting for the Parade now running at the Kinsmen Korral is an honest appraisal and speaks directly to the heart.

Director Louise Large (The Spider or the Fly) has astutely cast five fine actresses who have settled comfortably in the skins of five stalwart characters. These women march day-by-day rolling bandages, preparing fruit baskets and waving goodbye to eager young soldiers while each lives a private hell.

Janet, garbed in sleek pearls and smartly coiffed hairstyle, is a first-class drill sergeant who berates the town’s women into making care packages and practicing for an unlikely Japanese bombing attack.

In this meaty role, Rhonda Kozuska’s (Bedtime Stories, Hotbed Hotel) Janet is respectable and brisk, a woman who over compensates because her husband is deemed an “essential service.” He reads the news on radio twice a day and her shame is palpable.

Eve is a schoolteacher married to an older man prohibited from enlisting. She is infatuated with actor Leslie Howard and worries her young students will lie about their age and volunteer for service.

Meanwhile her jingoist husband takes out his frustrations pointing an imaginary gun at Eve and making rat-tat-tat noises. Jessica Andrews takes on this classically Canadian heroine creating a sweet, sentimental and slightly naĂŻve woman with a spunky streak.

Catherine’s young husband is fighting in the war. Lonely from the long absences and short of money, she gets a job at a munitions plant. When he is declared missing, she turns for comfort to moonshine or “War Widow’s Weakness” and men.

Andrea Newman’s performance paints a picture of a sassy, fun-loving woman unafraid to show her vulnerabilities. Catherine is also resilient and despite her loneliness and exhaustion, she still finds humour in life. Newman’s drunken scene with the girls is a hoot and one of the most cohesive.

Margaret is the oldest and the group pessimist. One son is fighting in Europe and the other is arrested for distributing Communist propaganda. She’s three months behind in rent, but has a basement packed with preserves and pickles. “Who’s going to eat them? There’s no one at home anymore,” she asks.

Joanne Poplett makes us feel her character’s constantly pulsing loneliness and hunger for family. Margaret’s lines are fairly straightforward. However Poplett is a splendid character actress that deadpans her lines and expertly sets up some of the play’s funniest moments.

German born Marta has lived in Canada and receives a Canadian citizenship. However, when her father is interned for hanging a framed picture of Hitler, she faces unceasing harassment.

Samara Von Rad’s Marta starts out stiffly, but gradually relaxes as several women accept her into their circle. But unlike the other women, Marta’s ancestry isolates her and in order to reclaim her father she must face a slow-moving bureaucracy. Ironically, when finally released, he no longer recognizes her.

Von Rad’s performance is smart, restrained and filled with subtlety. Her bearing, accent, sense of humour and tears are a perfect example of the quiet suffering the war produced.

In short, this is a parade of talent worth seeing. The production runs March 5 to 7.