theatre: Post-World War II Canadian traumas
Mary e. Glasgow, The Peak

As Canadians, we like to pride ourselves in a clean history of presenting our country as a haven from racism. We were the light at the end of the road for the underground railway, offering freedom for slaves escaping slavery in the South. We welcomed immigrants and refugees, greeting them with the hope of a country that embraces individual rights and beliefs. This is the ideal that we want to believe in. However, it is an ideal that, as Canadians, we have failed to live up to. This "falling short" is what Alberta native Mitch Austin opens up for discussion in his play about a Japanese-Canadian's relationship with his Canadian history in The Plum Tree.

In a very gentle and unobtrusive manner, Austin compares Japanese-Canadian experiences during WWII with those of German immigrants coming to Canada. Middle-aged George Murakami (Hiro Kanagawa) returns to the home of his father, a small homestead built by his grandfather in Mission, B.C., in search of a family heirloom that is hidden on the property. Upon arrival, George is greeted by the comical little spirit of his Uncle Mas (David Fujino) sitting in the same plum tree he hid in when trying to escape the internment of 1942. While searching, George is confronted by the current owner of the property, Frieda Wagner (Karin Austin), a bitter, elderly immigrant from Germany who wears gumboots and is armed with a shovel. George calms Frieda down by introducing himself under the pretense of a member of a society interested in heritage buildings.

As the true motives for George's interests in the run-down property unfold, George and Frieda become friends. Slowly, the two begin to share the difficulties that George's family experienced in losing the property, as well as the complications that Frieda and her family were confronted with after the war in their desperation to find work and a new life away from Germany.

This well-written piece, though serious in subject matter, provides plenty of laughter. Uncle Mas, by far the most comic of the characters, kept the show light hearted by jumping about the stage trying to persuade George to use his Samurai instincts to fight for the family's property. With the simplicity of just three characters, Austin creates intimate relationships that allow the audience members to enter into the narrative onstage. The set, which includes a life size tree, and the audio backdrop of rain creates a very believable atmosphere of the moist river-town of Mission. And the acting, though a little stiff at times, still manages to draw the audience into the story, and provides plenty of chuckles along the way.

On the subject of Canadian History, as well as a story line filled with drama and laughter, The Plum Tree is an excellent play and is well worth seeing. It offers an honest and accepting look at history, and it shows the importance of both confronting and accepting the past. The complications and irony of land rights are further summed up in a poignant final line that acknowledges the originality of native presence.

The Plum Tree runs until February 28, with tickets starting at $16 adults/$12 students. Wednesdays are pay-what-you-can for the 1 p.m. matinee. Call the Firehall box office at 604-689-0926 or visit www.firehallartscentre.ca.

For information on the history of Japanese Canadians, visit the Japanese Canadian National Museum in Burnaby. Call 604-777-7000, or visit www.jcnm. ca, for information.

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