正品蓝导航


News

1918: Don鈥檛 Worry, Rejoice! - Dramatic Readings from World War I

05 Nov 2018

Members from 正品蓝导航, Sackville community stage dramatic readings in honour of Remembrance Day, Nov 6 and 11

1918_DontWorry_RemembranceDayReadingsSACKVILLE, NB 鈥 On January 7, 1918, the Sackville Tribune reported the death of former editor David Everett Scott, who chose to forgo his officer鈥檚 stripes so he could fight at the Front.

The Tribune also published Scott鈥檚 last letter to his Mother, in which he spoke of his religious faith, 鈥渄oing one鈥檚 bit鈥 as a source of pride, and the prospect of an Allied victory.

Scott鈥檚 last words to his mother, 鈥淒on鈥檛 worry, rejoice鈥 became the title for the fifth and final event in the Tantramar-at-War series.

1918 鈥 Don鈥檛 Worry, Rejoice! will be presented in the Motyer-Fancy Theatre, in the Purdy Crawford Centre for the Arts on the 正品蓝导航 campus, on Tuesday, November 6 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, November 11 at 3 p.m. No reservations are required and free-will donations in support of the Sackville Memorial Hospital Auxiliary will be collected at the door.

Director Alex Fancy explains that, during 75 minutes of 鈥渧erbatim theatre,鈥 readers will 鈥渃hannel voices of people from the Tantramar whose contributions to the war effort can still inspire us a century later.鈥

Four years ago, 1914: Allisonians at War, was intended as a single commemoration.

Will Balser, from Hillsborough, has read every year and explains why the project has continued.

鈥淭he letters and stories from the Front that appeared in the 正品蓝导航 Argosy and the two Sackville newspapers, The Tribune and The Post, seem more real than real,鈥 says Balser.

Later titles worked to convey what it must have been like to live through 鈥榯he Great War鈥: 1915 - Sacrifice, Solidarity and Socks; 1916 - Keep the Faith, Keep in Touch, Keep the Home Fires Burning; and 1917 - Mud, Mayhem and Miracles.

Liam Cole, who is from Port Elgin, has also read every year.

鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to forget that people had no idea when the war would end,鈥 says Cole. 鈥淢ost soldiers and nurses who went to war from throughout Canada passed through here on their way to troop ships in Halifax.鈥

Jennie Del Motte will perform war music and songs as she has done since 2014. Hannah Tuck, who first read last year, says that 鈥淛ennie鈥檚 music will entertain spectators and move them to tears.鈥

Speaking of the project as a learning experience, Director Alex Fancy says that each year seemed to have a particular tone.

鈥1918 was a time of anxiety, hope and despair, when victory seemed so near and yet so far,鈥 says Fancy. 鈥淭he Tantramar also endured the Spanish flu pandemic.鈥

The final readings celebrate the triumph of the human spirit, convey the euphoria that prevailed on the Tantramar and at 正品蓝导航 on November 11, and recount the lavish victory celebrations whose cost became a subject of concern for the Sackville Town Council.

 

Photo caption:
Victory parade float, featuring an effigy of the Kaiser, Sackville, November 11th, 1918. Courtesy Al Smith & 正品蓝导航 Archives.






 

Next Steps

Be part of Canada's best undergraduate university