The Last Dog of War
The Last Dog of War is the personal narrative of a relationship between a woman and her father as they venture together to her father’s last squad reunion dating back to World War II. WeiJia (my usual partner in blog) and I had the most spectacular chance to watch this amazing production at the Martha Cohen theatre at the Epcor Centre.
The Tell Tale
Welcoming the audience into her personal tale, Linda Griffiths requests that each of the audience members treat her as a family member, as she does likewise, and she quite remarkably accomplishes this task, preventing certain apathy among the audience as mere spectators to the story she weaves. She often explains the common norms in her family: war, lies and betrayal, for her adopted family of the audience to understand the strange behaviour behind Linda’s actions. Linda’s lifestyle has evolved around the concept of war, her imaginative bits and pieces of a solider waltzing and the romanticized fantasies of dogfights in the sky. However, Linda does not have the whole story of a soldier’s experiences in World War II, as needed to launch a documentary on the history channel and attain fame.
If you want something you have to give a little…
This would require her to speak to her father. Linda’s father, the fittest 82-year-old man in Canada, would have the most precarious but also the most subtly heart-warming relationship with his daughter throughout the play. When Linda wanted something, in this case to accompany her father to his bomber squad reunion, he will “block” her requests, avoiding her with vague and irresolute excuses. However, Linda is determined to go to incredible lengths to attend her father’s squad reunion to attain the war stories of some of the greatest fighters in World War II. However, she must get through the stubborn and ill tempered Harry to figure out if her father will even be able to attend this reunion in the first place, if there is any possibility of her own attendance.
What you’ll love
Vivid deceptions aided by the fantastically stored props in her suitcases- among those of books, a fitting leather jackets and goggles, Linda amazingly draws the audience into a different world, her world of struggles, conflict and triumph. Lacking a definitive setting, sparsely occupied by the presence of Linda and suitcases, this did not detract from the realistic illustration of Linda Griffith’s narration. Aided by the wonderful direction of lighting, a scene change from being in the middle of an air fight in a dark sky to a diner is accomplished quite successfully with minimal props. I had felt as if I had accompanied Linda through her mission of attending her father’s squadron reunion, experienced the moments of misery and triumph as she had, and the questionable gulf between her father and herself. Linda has this amazing aspect about her presence on stage, as it is not powerful in the most typical and overwhelming way.
Be Prepared to be Blown Away by her Stage Presence!
Her presence was of nativity and youthfulness, as her impulsive but heartfelt actions usually surprised me. I was constantly drawn into her narrative, as her use of foreshadowing and sharing of emotions and thoughts, was exceptionally well timed and were almost interactive. Delightfully portraying various family members through brilliant British accents and ingeniously simple costumes, watching this play had reminded me the feeling evoked by watching an old, black and white, family film of younger and other times, heart warming and comforting.
Thanks go to the Alberta Theatre Projects for providing WeiJia and I seats to this great performance! The Last Dog of War continues to be performed at the Martha Cohen Theatre until Nov. 6, so come out and watch this great play!
