Refuge of Lies
Until May 1
Pacific Theatre
Contributed by Michelle Kim
The play, Refuge of Lies, is based on the real-life story of UBC botany instructor Jacob Luitjens who, in 1992, at the age of seventy-two-years of age, was accused of having collaborated with the Nazis in Holland during World War Two. Vancouver playwright and director Ron Reed was so struck by this scandal, and, in particular, the extent to which the Mennonite church, to which Luitjens belonged defended and supported this man, that he decided to write a theatrical adaptation of the events.
In Reed’s version, devout Mennonite Rudi Vanderhaal (Terence Kelly) confronts his dark past when Dutch-Jew Simone Katzman (Howard Siegal) travels from Holland to Vancouver to publicly reveal that Mr. Vanderhaal is not who he says he is; that in fact, Vanderhaal aided and abetted the Nazis in the murder of his relatives during war and concealed his past when immigrating to Canada fifty years ago.
The play then flips back and forth between the perspective of Vanderhaal and the perspective of Katzman, who is accompanied by his young niece Rachel (Erin Germaine Mahoney). What then ensues is Vanderhaal’s internal battle Vanderhaal externalised through dreams and hallucinations, and an external battle between Katzman and his niece on the justness the nature of justice internalised by silent moments and objects (plastic wrapped sandwiches and old prayer shawls).
Scenographic Designer Laughlin Johnston did an amazing job with the little (but charming) space the Pacific Theatre has. For instance, a bed tucks neatly under the top floor, doubling as both the Vanderhaal residence’s top floor and heaven/dreamland. There were other exquisite touches to the set, like having tiles on the floors and walls imprinted with portraits of Holocaust (symbolizing how memories are part of our internal structure) and having a bathtub, whose facet would occasionally run at the right moment in the play (symbolizing cleansing and rebirth).
Both Kelly and Siegal gave incredibly strong performances, and I found myself switching from empathizing with the old man seeking forgiveness to the old man seeking justice for his families and all victims of the Holocaust. Mahoney, in particular, gave a heartfelt performance of a young Jewish woman, fresh out of university, trying to reconcile the traumatic past of her ancestors and her political beliefs on what constitutes true justice. I also really enjoyed Anthony F. Ingram’s performance as the Mennonite pastor, torn between shepherding his member, Vanderhaal, to the light and really helping him understand that the past is sometimes not past and that forgiveness doesn’t simply happen with just a prayer.
Though I thought the blocking got a little chaotic at times as there was a lot of traffic on stage between the (sometimes short) scenes (I found myself often distracted from the story by watching actors walk through move the set around), I really enjoyed this play. In particular, I really liked the ultimate, over-arching questions Reed poses: What is forgiveness? Who grants forgiveness? And who is the ultimate judge? Man or God?
Michelle Kim is a Vancouver-based novelist and actor. You can read her other posts contributed to Miss604.com here.
A few weeks ago I was flown out to Burlington, Vermont to experience how a globally-recognized all natural ice cream company runs their business.
It was called the Ben & Jerry’s “blogger bash” or “bloggerpalooza” as I joined about a dozen others from online publications around North America in this adventure.
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Dine Out Vancouver returns as local restaurants offer up reasonable prix-fixe three-course menus from April 26th until May 6th.
Since 2002 this event is aimed at helping Vancouverites experience culinary creations in their hometown, find new favourite spots to grab a bite, and maybe even treat themselves to a high-dollar dining experience that comes with a low bill.
There are 208 restaurants and eateries participating this year which will be announced on Monday April 21st. The three price points for their set menus will be $18, $28 or $38 per person. Restaurants will offer wine pairings and recommendations for each course on their menus as well.
You can find out more by joining the Tourism Vancouver’s Facebook page and following them on Twitter. Restaurants and menus will be posted online next week.
To build the buzz, Tourism Vancouver has offered me two $75 gift certificates for participating restaurants as giveaway prizes. One is for Milestones in English Bay and the other is for The Keg at Park Royal.
To enter to win one of two gift certificates, please leave a comment below or post the following on Twitter:
I’ll draw two winners on Wednesday April 21st. Gift certificates are valid for one year after June 1, 2010 (not during Dine Out).
Update The draw will take place at 1:00pm today. I’ll draw one winner from the Twitter entries (for the Keg) and the other from comments (for Milestones).
Update The winners are Westend Gypsy (comment entry) and @csads (Twitter entry)
It was 1915 at one of Canada’s first indoor ice rinks, the Denman Arena, where the Vancouver Millionaires lifted the Stanley Cup. Named after the same man for whom Stanley Park has its title, it’s been an interesting 95 years of hockey in this town ever since.
Denman Arena from the Rowing Club in Stanley Park – Archives item #: CVA 99-2080
Winning the Stanley Cup for Vancouver wasn’t a big deal in 1915. When our Millionaires won the Cup March 26, 1915 — 98 years ago today — the story was buried on Page 7 of The Vancouver Sun, with no reference on the front page. [Chuck Davis]
At that time the city was less than 30 years old. The second Hotel Vancouver was being constructed, the first Georgia Viaduct was put in place, and the Vancouver Exposition became a permanent fixture at Hastings Park (and as we know it, the PNE). Hockey sure looked different then too.
It wasn’t until brothers Frank and Lester moved out West and formed the Pacific Coast Hockey Association with family lumber money that rules of play as we know them appeared on the ice. They also initiated the construction of the Denman Arena in Coal Harbour and Victoria’s Patrick Arena.
Contributions the Patrick brothers made to the game:
- The forward pass
- The blue line
- The penalty shot
- The boarding penalty
- The playoff system
- Kicking of the puck (except into the net)
- Allowing goalies to fall to make a save
- Crediting of assists on goals
“That’s just to name a few, but 22 of the changes implemented by these brothers are still in the modern day NHL rule book, shaping the game that’s still played today. In fact, they helped build the Pacific Coast Hockey Association from near scratch to one of the best leagues to play in at the time.”
John put this information together over on our podcast site back in November:
If you walk by the site of Denman Arena, where this action took place and where the Vancouver Millionaires won the Stanley Cup against the Ottawa Senators in the 1915 finals you won’t see much. There is a modest sign card, a bus stop, and a parking lot for Devonian Harbour Park.
“I kept thinking that this is such a Canadian version of Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi”. Instead of paving paradise to put up a parking lot, the rink burned down so they stuck in a parking lot. Of course, Coal Harbour has a tad more history to it than that, especially since the arena met its end in 1936.”
I’ve covered the stories of Denman Arena and the great Cyclone Taylor before, but it’s at a time like this that we need to celebrate our hockey history in this town. Sure, it’s been a heck of a while since a Vancouver player raised Lord Stanley’s Cup but I think it’s well overdue for another spin around our rink.
New to DVD there will be a special screening of It’s Complicated starring Maryl Strep, Steve Martin, and Alec Baldwin next Thursday from at the Shangri-La Hotel’s Blue Moon Theatre.
This is an exclusive event to promote the DVD (and Blu-Ray) release coming up on April 27th and the only way in is to win. Luckily I have two tickets up for grabs for one lucky winner.
To enter the contest, submit your funniest relationship complication in the comments below (in 100 words or less).
The winner and their friend will enjoy beverages, nibble on hors d’oeuvres, watch the film, and walk away with a special goodie bag from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
The event will run from 1:00pm – 5:00pm on Thursday April 22nd.
The contest will end Monday April 19th at 9:00am. The winner will be selected and notified by email that will include further details for the screening party on Thursday.
Update The contest is now closed and Agasel is the winner, congratulations!
