It was performance number 611, so a little fatigue could be expected.
Yet that wasn’t the case. So emotionally charged was Julia Mackey’s performance of Jake’s Gift on Friday night that this could have been the premiere.
Within minutes of her stepping out on stage at Barrhead Composite High School drama theatre the audience were captivated by this play about a Canadian Second World War vet’s unlikely bond with a French girl during the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
And no wonder … who can be immune to the charms of 10-year-old Isabelle? Mischievous, willful, playful, funny, precocious, candid, endlessly inquisitive – she is all these things.
She also has that intuition that only the young possess, untrammeled by experience and disappointment; it enables her to pierce the curmudgeonly exterior of Jake, the vet who reluctantly revisits the shores of Normandy where his older brother Chester was killed.
It helps Jake confront a 60-year burden, the survivor’s guilt at a brother’s death, and the love that has gone so long unexpressed.
The encounter takes place at Juno Beach, one of five sectors in the Allied landings.
There is an extraordinary pathos to this relationship between a wide-eyed girl and a crusty old man.
So much so, that I often found myself terribly moved at unexpected junctures; some comic banter or Isabelle calling out to Jake in a parade of vets.
For those who haven’t seen Jake’s Gift, be prepared: come with plenty of hankies.
Dry eyes were hard to spot after the second of this season’s Barrhead Arts Council’s shows.
As Jake’s Gift is only an hour long, organizers decided to expand the evening’s entertainment by inviting the Magic Lamp Singers from Sangudo to perform.
The group, whose name comes from the pantomime, Aladdin, is made up of seven singers: Chris Jones, Laurie Coulson, Lana Brand, Ruth Hewitt, Neil Lightfoot, Henry Baxter and Bob Jervis. The keyboardist is Andrea Perrin.
Anybody who hasn’t heard these delightful singers is missing a treat. They set the tone for the night with their sweet rendition of such Second World War songs as Lili Marleen, In The Mood, Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Mr. Hitler?, Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree and Sentimental Journey.
The group started and finished with two Vera Lynn evergreens – The White Cliffs of Dover and We’ll Meet Again in which the audience were encouraged to join in.
With the mood set, the transition to Jake’s Gift proved seamless.
According to the program, Mackey travelled to Normandy in June 2004 and attended ceremonies in Normandy marking the anniversary of the 1944 landings of Allied forces along a 50-mile stretch of the French coast.
She interviewed dozens of veterans who had returned for the occasion. Their experience, as well as her discoveries and a lifelong interest in Remembrance Day led to the development of the play, which is expertly directed by Vancouver’s Dirk Van Stralen.
Mackey, who also plays more minor roles in Jake’s Gift – a schoolteacher and Isabelle’s grandmother – believes there is a growing feeling that the world is quickly losing a generation who fought in the Second World War.
This could partly explain the enduring appeal of a play she thought would run for a mere couple of weeks.
But only partly.
The great virtuosity of Mackey – which earned a standing ovation on Friday – must be the principal reason. She moves smoothly between the two main characters in a totally believable way, taking the audience on an emotional journey culminating in an exchange of gifts.
A small part of me rebelled against Jake’s gift. How could he cause such distress to little Isabelle?
Yet a bigger part appreciated it was the perfect gift, reflecting the play’s hopeful underlying theme of reconciliation.
Jake’s Gift is a paradox.
Watching it pulls on the heartstrings, yet it is not a sad play.
It is a play about loss and redemption.
It is a play about life.
