UNITY (1918)

"They’re all dead now. Here’s a picture of Glen and Richard before they left for war. Don’t worry, they both survived the fighting. Here’s Bea, with her sister, Sissy, and best friend Mary. They couldn’t have been more different, but they were often attached at the hip. There’s Stan and Ardell. You can tell they love each other very deeply. See it in their eyes? Rose and Doris. Thick as thieves, and I believe they kept the town together. Hjortur and Sunna. An odd pair. I once heard Hjortur mention a son, but then, where is the boy? Oh here’s Michael. Everyone loved Michael. Ted and Fred, with his sister Joanne! I didn’t realize I still had this photo. I never met two closer friends. It was a shame they lost touch when they got older. And Joanne was like a mother to everyone, even from a young age. We don’t have any pictures of the Ukrainians who were new to Unity, but they were there. We could always hear their music wafting on the air. All these spirits are coming to the theatre to share with you a story they believe you yearn to hear. "

In the fall of 1918, the town of Unity, Saskatchewan is celebrating the end of World War One and the return of its young soldiers. However, the resilience of the town is tested as a new and unexpected challenge emerges. In this painfully funny work of moving familiarity, the characters in the farming community of Kevin Kerr’s Unity (1918), resonate powerfully and surprisingly.

A gothic romance filled with dark comedy, Unity (1918) earned the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama as well as the Sydney Risk Award for Outstanding Original Script and the Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Original Script.