Jake’s Gift honours small town World War II heroes

Original Canadian play tells veterans’ untold stories

Julia Mackey as Jake, an 80 year-old World War II veteran. Photo courtesy of Tim Matheson.

Vancouver resident Julia Mackey wasn’t born in Canada, but her passion for writing and performing in the arts has made her a true asset to Canadian cultural pride.

The 41 year-old Birmingham, England native is touring the country with her original production, Jake’s Gift, landing in Fredericton’s Playhouse Wednesday night. The one-woman play tells the story of a Canadian World War II veteran who reluctantly returns to Normandy for the 60th anniversary of D-Day.

Mackey’s interest in the Second World War was piqued after watching a documentary in middle school on the participation of Canadian soldiers in the war. She said felt disgust for the physical turmoil and loss of life that resulted from the war, but sorrow for the men and women that gave everything for their country.

“That’s when I really understood what Remembrance Day was all about,” Mackey says from a cell phone in St. Andrews, one of many Maritime stops on her Canada-wide tour.

Rather than hit the city hotspots, Mackey chose to tour in smaller towns and villages. The majority of Canadians who enlisted in the war were from these rural areas, she says, so it only made sense to pay tribute to these small town veterans.

In 2004, Mackey was given the opportunity to attend the 60th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France. Given her life-long interest in World War II, she went, and the experience impacted her on a level she could not forget.

“It really was an amazing experience,” she says. “I interviewed Canadian, American and British veterans, and I knew I wanted to tell their stories.”

Moved by the sight of veterans reducing to tears at the gravestones of their fallen comrades, Mackey focused on this feeling of loss for the writing of Jake’s Gift. The play’s protagonist, 80 year-old Jake, just suffered the loss of his wife and brother, another World War II survivor. Jake’s other brother, Chester, also fought in the battle on Juno Beach, but he never returned home.

“Jake goes back to Normandy for the first time since the war because he wants to find his brother’s grave,” Mackey says. “His younger brother frequently went back to Chester’s grave and he always wanted Jake to go with him, but Jake didn’t want to remember or deal with those horrible memories. He always felt guilty for never going, so he decides to go back for the 60th anniversary of D-Day. It’s the one last thing he has to do before he dies.”

Mackey had already created Jake’s character before her fateful journey to Normandy. After creating some basic scenes in her head while watching the veterans overseas, Mackey decided Jake would be ideal for the role. It wasn’t until June 2006 that the wheels really started getting in motion and Mackey created the character of Isabelle, an outspoken and curious 10 year-old girl from a village near Juno Beach.

“Isabelle is the narrator, but she’s also the person that helps him confront his suppressed memories and feelings of loss,” she says.

Rather than employing actors, Mackey fills both the playwright and all four actor’s shoes. She said the decision to play all four characters was one made out of practicality and the desire for perfection, as she already knew how to play each character’s voice, body language and personality.

“It really had to do with my desire to create a one-woman show,” she says. “But it’s also very convenient for traveling and not nearly as expensive.”

Mackey also plays Isabelle’s grandmother and a Canadian teacher. Acting out four characters in one play is certainly difficult, she says, especially when she has two or more characters interacting at once.

“The transitions are very quick, so you hardly even notice it. It’s almost like in a movie, when the camera focuses on one actor when they’re speaking. You rarely see two actors talking in one frame in a movie.”

Mackey isn’t alone on this cross-Canada tour, as she’s brought along her partner and the play’s director, Dirk van Stralen.

“With the business that [van Stralen] and I are in, there’s a lot of traveling involved, so a lot of couples like us don’t get to spend a lot of time together,” Mackey says. “But it works out perfectly for us, we get to travel across the country together in this van. It’s been so much fun.”

After hitting the Fredericton Playhouse on Wednesday, October 14, Mackey continues on to Charlottetown on Thursday and Riverview on Friday before heading for Ontario.

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Posted by Gilean Watts on Oct 14, 2009. Filed under Features, This Week's Edition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.