by John Murrell
Directed by Joseph Ziegler
A Soulpepper Production
at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts
May 5-29, 2010

    The real suffering of the five women of different ages in John Murrell’s Waiting For The Parade is caused not so much by war as its is by loneliness—that and their own burdens as women with problems about marriage, spinsterhood, rebellious children, and old age. World War II rages overseas. No bombs fall anywhere near Calgary, where these women wait and yearn for the return of peace and some of their men. Under the watchful eye of Janet, the brisk drill sergeant of the home front, whose husband shirks his military duty, they practise air-raid blackout drills, prepare baskets of fruit, dance to the Big Band music on radio, and exchange assorted dissatisfactions, grudges, anxieties, and hostilities. They also humour one another, defining themselves by their preoccupations and the absence of men. Catherine, a worker in a munitions plant, is the only one of the group with a husband fighting abroad. Eve is a young naïve schoolteacher who frets about her young charges and the fate of her screen idol Leslie Howard in this awful war. And old Margaret, is a widow with one son fighting in Europe and a younger one who is at least a nominal Communist in rebellion against most things. As tart as one of her homegrown pickles, she is the wry one of the group. There is also Marta, a German-born Canadian, who has to fight for her pride and survival in a society that condemns her interned father for his Nazi sympathies. There are dramatic undercurrents, of course, but these are mainly subdued by the women’s practice of being unsung and ordinary as they keep the home fires burning. In effect, the play is preoccupied with the tension of waiting rather than the tensions of something extraordinary. It seems pragmatically suburban rather than dramatically macrocosmic.

   What is the best way to realize the relationships and conflicts on stage without losing the awful sense of a war being waged abroad? It surely is not the way practised by the Soulpepper group under Joseph Ziegler’s simple, gentle but low-pressured direction. This is not a bad production; indeed, it is good many times, especially in the comedy. Christina Poddubiuk’s set of mainly open wooden closets, topped by World War II soldier uniforms and helmets, works fairly well at suggesting a cramped environment, and her costumes are just fine. So are the lighting of Louise Guinand and the sound of Mike Ross. The acting isn’t bad; it simply isn’t good enough to make the connective tissue of the women significant enough to have staying power. Nancy Palk as Margaret, the oldest woman who is all gloom and doom (Death runs her life!) gives a dominant performance, her bony face and body sagging with weariness, but I have seen the role played with greater depth and ache. Deborah Drakeford as Janet, the priggish “sergeant-major” of the group, scores in the comedy but doesn’t expose enough of the character’s painful vulnerability. The three other actresses all have their strong moments, but none of them takes the full measure of emotional hurt. Fiona Byrne is coolly disciplined as Marta, but there isn’t enough intensity in her acting. Michelle Monteith merely skims the surface of Catherine, managing charm, naivete, and anger as she but missing the small chasm of the heart, and falling flat miserably in her drunk scene. And Krystin Pellerin as Eve is ingratiating without being truly moving. In fact, she and Monteith seem like young actresses trying to act in a period style to which neither is accustomed. When the war is over and the women line up to greet the homecoming soldiers, there is no sense of catharsis. I was left waiting to connect in some way with at least some of the characters, but had to be content watching the play as if it were a small parade passing by. 

photos: Sian Richards

pic 1: (front to rear) Michelle Monteith (Catherine), Fiona Byrne (Marta), Krystin Pellerin (Eve), and Deborah Drakeford (Janet)

pic 2 (L-R): Fiona Byrne (Marta), Michelle Monteith (Catherine), Krystin Pellerin (Eve),and Nancy Palk (Margaret)




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