Live and in person at 4th Line Theatre, Millbrook, Ont. Playing until August 24, 2024.
Written by Beverley Cooper
Directed by Kim Blackwell
Musical direction and original compositions, Justin Hiscox
Costumes by Korin Cormier
Set by Michelle Chesser
Choreography by Anita La Selva
Sound by Steáfán Hannigan
Cast:
Michelle Chesser
Logan Coombes
Thomas Fournier
Matt Gilbert
Justin Hiscox
Mark Hiscox
Anita La Selva
Ian McGarrett
Kelsey Powell
Katie Ryerson
Nathan Simpson
Mikayla Stoodley
Phil Stott
Hilary Wear
Lindsay Wilson
Robert Winslow
And others.
Playwright Beverley Cooper has always been interested in The Spanish Civil War. As she says in her programme note, when she writes a play she also wants to explore what it says about today, specifically, can one person really make a difference?
Some background.
The Spanish Civil war took place in Spain between 1936-39. The Popular Front was democratically elected. But a military coup tried to overthrow them. General Francisco Franco rose to prominence because he was one of the instigators. He was aided by Mussolini and Hitler. Over 1,500 Canadians travelled to Spain to fight on the side of the Popular Front against Fascism because they could see that if it could happen in Spain, it could happen anywhere.
Myrtle Eugenia Watts came from an upper class, conservative family in Toronto. She was sometimes known as Jean, and then Jim—don’t really know why. She always wanted to help the underdog, the underprivileged, the downtrodden. Jim Watts had heard Emma Goldman give an impassioned talk about women’s rights; how abortions should be legal (this was in the 1930s), and other ideas way ahead of their time. Jim Watts’ father looked down on such notions. Father and daughter were always at odds.
Mr. Watts thought that Hitler had some good ideas and didn’t think he was so bad. Jim Watts was more politically aware, so again they wrangled. She joined a theatre company that did political theatre that didn’t really succeed. Jim Watts began writing for a new political publication. Finally, when Jim Watts read about the Spanish Civil war, she wanted to go and support them. But women were not allowed to fight so she offered her services as a reporter to the Daily Clarion. Her father was angry and her mother was just embarrassed but still a bit supportive.
Because women were not allowed near the front, Jim Watts wrote human interest stories about ordinary people, usually women, and what they endured. Jim Watts interviewed Norman Bethune, whom she found arrogant and pompous, but had great ideas when it came to helping the wounded. Bethune wanted to help both sides if they were injured.
Playwright Beverley Cooper says that she is writing a fictional account of real events, so she took literary license when writing. There is a terrific scene in which Jim Watts meets Dorothy Parker, Lillian Hellman, Martha Gelhorn and Ernest Hemingway in a bar in Spain. Did it really happen? Who knows, but it’s a great scene. (Note: Martha Gelhorn was herself a celebrated war correspondent, and eventually the third wife of Ernest Hemingway).
Jim Watts decided to become more involved in the Spanish war effort and became an ambulance driver in Spain. Jim Watts was one of three women who were considered officially in the MacKenzie-Papineau regiment of the International Brigade fighting fascism in Spain. She eventually came home and continued her various crusades to make a difference.
The connection of the youth in the 1930s and today is palpable. In the 1930s the youth felt isolated and disaffected by the world around them. There was upheaval, a world divided. Sounds familiar. Today we are in turmoil. There are wars and conflicts and again the youth of today are isolated and disaffected. I think that COVID had a lot to do with it, but on the whole, the conditions are the same. The youth protest as the only way they can be heard.
As for the production, it’s terrific. There is a huge cast of professional actors, some up and coming actors and community actors. The result is a seamless whole endeavor in which everyone is totally committed.
Director Kim Blackwell uses the whole space of the Winslow family farm: the barnyard, the near meadows and a vintage truck that drives into and out of scenes to stand in for a 1930s ambulance.
Katie Ryerson plays Jim Watts and she is impassioned, tenacious and compelling. Matt Gilbert is a bull-headed Norman Bethune and is full of charisma. Hilary Wear plays many parts but her Emma Goldman is sparky and forceful. Anita La Selva plays a vary regal Mrs. Watts, a passionate Spanish leader known as La Passionaria, and a wonderful Flamenco dancer, for which she also did the choreography. This is a hugely accomplished cast.
Special mention should be made of Justin Hiscox’s original music. It’s stirring, beautifully haunting, melodic, tender and so perfectly accompanies the scenes.
I loved how Beverley Cooper created characters who want to change the world but are overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. But they don’t stop. They are not defeated. They are frustrated and angry, but they are tenacious.
We live in a world that is full of the accomplishments of single people who would not be deterred and did in fact change the world. I think Jim Watts is one of them.
4th Line Theatre presents:
Plays until Aug. 24, 2024.
Playing time: 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.). (1 intermission)
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I saw the production on opening night with my sister, Janette Higgins. Our father was a Mac Pap, and his character was also in the play! What a fast moving, energetic production! Janette’s book, Fighting for Democracy, and a book written by Manuel Alvarez, The Tall Soldier, inspired the inclusion of our Dad in the play. It was so moving to see the young Jimmy Higgins included in the action, and to meet the actor who portrayed him, after the show.
Thank you, 4th Line Theatre for this great production, and all the actors for their commitment! And for having Fighting for Democracy available for sale onsite during the run.
Proud son of Jim Watts (Lawson). My brother and sister have passed away.
Mom was called Jim because her father had always wanted a boy.
Patrick Lawson
Thats so great! By the time I was born in955, my Dad didn’t talk about that part of his past