On Anniversary of Spanish Flu Catastrophe, Alberta Theatre Projects examines effects in Canada
Ninety years ago, the Spanish Flu killed between fifty and one hundred million people around the globe. This fall, Alberta Theatre Projects examines “the pandemic that history forgot” (Globe and Mail, September 16th 2008).
In an article printed September 16th 2008, Helen Branswell of the Globe and Mail revisits the illness that plagued the world at the end of the First World War. Despite its catastrophic consequences, Branswell observes the absence of mention in history books of the outbreak, with very few books devoted to the topic itself.
Playwright Kevin Kerr says the turning point for him in writing Unity (1918) was reading The Silent Enemy: Canada and the Deadly Flu of 1918 by Eileen Pettigrew. What shocked him beyond the pure devastation of the period was that he felt he hadn’t known much about it previously. He was “flabbergasted by the enormity of the event and the global impact… how devastating and terrifying it was” and asked “why isn’t this event more totally present in our collective conscience?” From this experience, Mr. Kerr wrote Unity (1918), an exploration of “the nature of fear, panic and community… glorious death vs. inglorious death”. Mr. Kerr feels that while one can moralize WWI, there was no moral context to the flu and therefore it is harder to comprehend.
A winner of the Governor General’s Award for Drama, Kevin Kerr’s Unity (1918) courageously examines growing up at the end of the world, when one is faced with the loss of community; an amusing, touching and intensely human portrait of small town life on the prairies.
To read Ms. Branswell’s article, please visit
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080916.wlflu16/BNStory/National/
For more information on Unity (1918), please visit
www.ATPlive.com
Unity (1918) runs from September 23rd through October 11th 2008, with shows Tuesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 PM. All performances on the ConocoPhillips STAGE in the Martha Cohen Theatre, 215 – 8 Ave SE. For tickets, please call our Ticket Office at (403) 294-7402, Ticketmaster at (403) 299-8888 or visit www.ATPlive.com
In an article printed September 16th 2008, Helen Branswell of the Globe and Mail revisits the illness that plagued the world at the end of the First World War. Despite its catastrophic consequences, Branswell observes the absence of mention in history books of the outbreak, with very few books devoted to the topic itself.
Playwright Kevin Kerr says the turning point for him in writing Unity (1918) was reading The Silent Enemy: Canada and the Deadly Flu of 1918 by Eileen Pettigrew. What shocked him beyond the pure devastation of the period was that he felt he hadn’t known much about it previously. He was “flabbergasted by the enormity of the event and the global impact… how devastating and terrifying it was” and asked “why isn’t this event more totally present in our collective conscience?” From this experience, Mr. Kerr wrote Unity (1918), an exploration of “the nature of fear, panic and community… glorious death vs. inglorious death”. Mr. Kerr feels that while one can moralize WWI, there was no moral context to the flu and therefore it is harder to comprehend.
A winner of the Governor General’s Award for Drama, Kevin Kerr’s Unity (1918) courageously examines growing up at the end of the world, when one is faced with the loss of community; an amusing, touching and intensely human portrait of small town life on the prairies.
To read Ms. Branswell’s article, please visit
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080916.wlflu16/BNStory/National/
For more information on Unity (1918), please visit
www.ATPlive.com
Unity (1918) runs from September 23rd through October 11th 2008, with shows Tuesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 PM. All performances on the ConocoPhillips STAGE in the Martha Cohen Theatre, 215 – 8 Ave SE. For tickets, please call our Ticket Office at (403) 294-7402, Ticketmaster at (403) 299-8888 or visit www.ATPlive.com
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