"Jake's Gift" is as simple and as beautiful as storytelling can get. Written and performed by Julia Mackey and directed by Dirk Van Stralen (both from Vancouver), this moving story of Jake, an 80-year old war vet returning to Juno Beach on the 60th anniversary of D-Day is the best war play that isn't about war I've ever seen. Making his first trip to France since the war, Jake meets a precocious ten-year old named Isabelle whose inquisitiveness forces Jake to admit things about his past he has yet to face.
The set-up for this show makes it instantly workable: the audience wants to love a grumpy old man and a cheerful, if sometimes annoying, little girl. And structurally, putting these two characters together makes it easier to have Jake share his personal stories: Isabelle unabashedly asks all sorts of questions and he reluctantly begins to open up. Running through this very simple story are some big themes: loss, friendship, family and love. We are reminded that something as awful as war also has the power to bring people together and that the pain of losing a loved one never really goes away.
Mackey plays all the characters in this piece and while it is true that her transitions between characters are impressively flawless, this is not what the audience focuses on - instead it is the story and the likable characters who keep the audience engaged.
What really struck me at the end of the play, as I wiped the tears from my cheeks and listened to the sniffles of the other audience members, is that this play is really about connection. It is about the connection between the old man and the little girl, between family members living and dead, and between nations: in this case, Canada and France. And it is quite remarkable to me that a single performer was able to convey something so powerful.
This show is simply lovely and I highly recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to experience it.
Rating: M
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Jake's Gift is part of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival and runs June 6 - 10 at the Canadian War Museum.
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