HVT hosts post-war tale

An award-winning, true-to-life production which took the 2007 Montreal Fringe Festival by storm is being mounted at Hudson Village Theatre beginning Nov. 13.

Steeped in reality, And Stockings for the Ladies by Attila Clemann paints a poignant picture of the aftermath of World War Two.

The content of the one-man play “is based on letters written to his wife by the playwright’s step-grandfather, a Canadian airman whose unit was stationed outside the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp after it was liberated by the British,” explained director Zach Fraser, who is marking his directorial debut with Village Theatre. “It’s a very interesting piece from a historical perspective. “There are some poignant passages about what he saw there as they tried to nurse the inmates back to health in atrocious conditions. One of the things they did was to try to help re-establish contact between families by organizing an underground postal service. They would receive packages from Canada containing everything from soap to chocolates to pencils, and stockings for the ladies. If there was a B marked on the package, it was meant for Belsen,” explained Fraser, who appeared in the Centaur Theatre production of Life is a Dream which wrapped up last Saturday.

But despite its sombre edge, “the play isn’t intended to be a tragic war story; it’s more celebratory, a tale of rebirth. Brendan McMurtry-Howlett portrays a lot of colourful characters, and there are lighter moments and humour from the era,” he said, adding, “Attila and I tried to avoid it becoming a monologue. “People are pleasantly surprised when they see it; it isn’t what they expect. And young people really seem to enjoy it.”

The play won top awards at the both the Montreal and Toronto fringe fests, and then went on to Centaur last January. It toured the Maritimes, and wound up a two-week run at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa last weekend. It is currently being staged in Toronto as part of Holocaust Education Week.

After Hudson the play goes to Rochester, N.Y., “and we’re planning to take it out west,” said Fraser, an east coast native who teaches in the theatre department at John Abbott College.

In honour of Remembrance Day, veterans are being offered two tickets for the price of one on the evening of the opening performance. Afterwards they’ll be invited to attend a reception with McMurtry-Howlett.

The show continues Nov. 14 and 15 at 8 p.m., and on the 15th and 16th at 2 p.m. The theatre is located at 28 Wharf Rd. For tickets and more information, call 450-458-5361.