Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre presents the anticipated world premiere of Stephen Massicotte’s Stars on her Shoulders.
Massicotte (Mary’s Wedding) is a specialist in developing characters from the First World War and what it means to be a Canadian.
In Stars on Her Shoulders, he whisks theatre-goers to 1918 France. In the backstory, a group of nurses from the Canadian Army Medical Corp have served in a hospital near the front lines for three years. One night a German plane bombs their hospital leaving more than 30 dead including several nurses.
It is the first bombing of a hospital in history and soldiers, nurses and civilians are left shell-shocked. Prior to the First World War, there was a military agreement that hospitals and medical clinics would not be targeted.
“But it’s late in the war and both sides are getting desperate as the war drags on,” said St. Albert actor Hayley Moorhouse. She plays the role of Helen, one of the nurses who digs through the night, dousing fires and sorting the living from the dead.
As the play opens Helen and another nurse Emma (Meegan Sweetly) have been sent to a hospital farther away from the lines to convalesce from fatigue and various wounds.
“Helen is quick-witted, sardonic, emotionally closed off and struggling with the enormity of what happened. Her method of coping is being snarky,” said Moorhouse. “At the beginning, you see her stoically closed off. But slowly, you see the cracks appear, and I’m gratified to do a character that changes and grows.”
Much of Helen’s stoicism developed while living as a civilian.
“Prior to the war she felt she was an outsider in society, both as an odd woman and a suffragette activist. She lived and worked outside the traditional role of women at that time. It could be exciting and cool, but it was also lonely. You can’t develop relationships.”
Both nurses are impatient to return to service. While they wait, news arrives the two will receive the Military Medal for bravery during the bombing. Immediately controversy arises.
Nurses in the Canadian military core are commissioned officers, and the appropriate decoration is the Military Cross. Only Warrant Officers, Non-commissioned officers and non-commissioned members receive the Military Medal.
Recognizing a double standard between male and female officers, the cast of five (also includes Gabby Bernard, Dayna Lee Hoffmann and Dana Wylie) protest and discuss a suffragette-inspired campaign to award the Military Cross.
As tensions rise, director Heather Inglis notes Stars on Her Shoulders is about women, activism and Queerness as well as all the personal experiences we encounter – longing, loneliness and finding a place to belong.
“This production is about many things. The themes bubble through and it’s less about the story and more about the experiences we have. It’s about characters at the precipice of a new world and what it means to move forward in a complex modern world,” said Inglis.
Stars on Her Shoulders opens at Workshop West, Gateway Theatre, 8529 Gateway Blvd. Opening night is Friday, Nov. 1 and runs until Nov. 17. All tickets are Pay-What-You-Will pricing. Suggested ticket price is $40.
