Es REVIEW | ‘Grace’ pokes fun at Socreds: but misses political target If Tamahnous Theatre and the Vancouver East Cultural Centre hoped to add potent ammunition to the growing arsenal of opposition to B.C.’s Social Credit govern- Ment, and help blow that govern- Ment out of office they missed the Mark with their co-production, A te of Grace. __ If, on the other hand, the aim Was simply to promote their stated esis that ‘“government tends to be _ Something of joke,” then the new _ Song-and-dance offering currently _ Premiering at the Van East centre is ely on target. Not a ’ ullseye, perhaps, but certainly : within the inner rings. _, Tamahnous, the Vancouver _ dased company with a string of _ Socially relevant plays and musicals ‘0 its credit, has decided to target the Socreds and particularly the Career and mannerisms of human _ -Fesources minister Grace McCar- - thy in this latest work, created by ave cast from an initial script by Playwright Stephen Miller. uch a topic is long overdue, and : | eae. ; “a A STATE OF GRACE. A Tamahnous Theatre production directed by Susan Astley and Alex Diakun. At the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, 1885 Venables, Van. To July 24. is a fitting subject for a company with Tamahnous’ credentials. What emerges is a lampoon which concentrates, disappointingly, more on superficialities than on the true nature of this anti-people government that fovors mega- projects while cutting back on health services and workers’ wages. A State of Grace traces the career of the “honorable minister of provincial antics’? (Alana Shields) from childhood in Van- couver’s East End, through her successful rise in the business world as a florist and in politics as a Van- couver parks commissioner, to her current status as Socred cabinet _ minister. Shields’ “‘Grace’’ earns many an honest laugh as she displays an avaricious nature with a simpering voice, and collection of clothes that constitutes a kind of uniform for middleclass, Socred matriarchs. In this ‘‘Grace’’ is com- plemented by the male portion of the cast, who as, variously, W. A. C. Bennett and Bill Bennett, Jr. (David Petersen), Phil Gagliardi, Bill Vander Zalm and a reporter who caricatures Province colum- nist Alan Garr (Ed Astley) and Grace’s press officer, “Freddy (Bruce Greenwood), sport the pinstripe and outlandish checkered suits which symbolize a party of hardware dealers and used car salesmen. Much is made of the personal foibles of these Socred leaders, which provides the spice (and the laughs) for Tamahnous’ scenario — but so much so that the anti- people bias of the government is dwarfed, or lacking altogether. It isn’t until the last of Grace’s three acts that scandals like the “Dirty Tricks” letter-writing affair and ‘‘Gracie’s Finger’’ are given some deserved attention. Lacking, or poorly treated, is any representation of growing public opposition to these schemes. This is indicated chiefly by the results of a ballot taken during the intermissions and read out at the musical’s climax, showing the Socreds to be decidedly unpopular. In a June. 15 “‘press release,” Tamahnous ‘‘Grace’’ states: “‘I want to say that government tends to something of a joke. And fur- British Columbians are being offered the chance to see the building of the Nicaraguan revolution as Daniel Caselli and Deborah Barndt tour the province with their eye-catching photo exhibit. The photos depict the life of peasants and workers engaged ~ in constructing a new Nicara- qua. Taken on farms, at urban worksites and in classrooms, the series is the work of Caselli, an Uruguayan exile, Barndt, a Torontonian who was involved in the country’s literacy cam- paign, Margaret Randall, noted author of many works on the Cuban revolution and current Nicaraguan resident, and others. : = eS . a : Photographers Daniel Caselli (I) and De’ their photo display at Robson Square. Nicaragua photos = TRIBUNE PHOTO—SEAN GRIFFIN ~ = borah Barndt pose wit! A small text accompanies each section of the display, which has been shown in 18 cen- tres so far in the two-month cross-country tour. One objec- tive is to raise funds for the country, hard-hit by the revolu- tion, earthquakes and most recently a series of devastating floods. “We also hope to counter the image given by the mass media and ffiltered through Washington, D.C., which hasn’t portrayed the real Nicaragua,’’ Caselli explained. The display has already been shown at Vancouver’s Robson Square and in Victoria, and will return to the Vancouver Public Library July 1-5. Film mocks Cold War reports this over shots of their «ther, that unless we begin to treat © our elected. officials ina more 8 cavalier fashion, then we are in 1 S grave danger of taking them, and THE ATOMIC CAFE. Feature documentary by Kevin Rafferty, Javin Loader. At the Interna- tional Film Festival, Varsity children. Perhaps because Eisenhower was a general and then presi- 6 ourselves, too seriously.” Theatre, Van. July 9,9:30p.m., dent, the government did not i o That appears to be the motiva- July 17, 7:30 p.m. Reserve Prohibit him speaking of the ( i 2 tion for Tamahnous’ well-acted, | seating. need for restraint and caution — 1 i _ me NUN “humorous but insubstantial = : the only sane voice in the film. | Outrageously coiffed Grace (Alana Shields) addresses “press con- jysical. Itismorethan the detonating As counterbalance, Nixon is “'8rence” announcing Tamahnous Theatre’s new production. —Dan Keeton sounds of exploding atomicand _ shown in support of the air raid | hydrogen bombs that make this shelters and other civil defence i Classified Advertising . i COMING EVENTS COMMERCIAL ; JULY 10 Asay — Solidarity Cafe, 8 p.m. Templeton Hall. See display ad. FOR RENT Peal. JULY and/or Aug., 5 rm. nished house near beach at Half- Moon Bay, | 748-8416,” $125 per week. Ph. | Sat., July 10 : 8 p.m. _|_ Templeton Hall | 700 Templeton Dr. | Local Entertainment, ah Snacks and Refreshments | Adm. $2.50 | re | Proceeds to help build a school in Nicaragua Sponsored by the YCL —_ 9S a member of WFDY CONDOR’S PAINTING & build- ing maintenance. Free estimate. Phone 433-1145. A progressive firm . owned and operated by Chilean ’ Canadians. Reasonable rates. GRAMMA PUBLICATIONS. Complete printing services. Brochures, menus, leaflets, etc. Special rates for the progressive movement. A union shop. 1595 W. 3rd Ave., Van. 733-6822. ROOF REPAIRS — New roofs. Reasonable. Ph. 277-3352. ELECTRICAL, plumbing, appli- ance repairs. Don Berg. 255-7287. (Note: On holiday through July.) LEGAL SERVICES RANKIN, McMURRAY & BOND, Barristers and Solicitors. 157 Alexander St., 2nd Floor, Van- couver. 682-3621. DIRECTORY COMMUNIST PARTY OF CAN- ADA offices located at 102-2747 E. Hastings St. Ph. 254-9836. For in- formation on political issues or as- sistance in political activity. HALLS FOR RENT RUSSIAN PEOPLE’S HOME — Available for rentals. For reserva- tions phone 254-3430. WEBSTERS CORNERS HALL — Available for banquets, meetings, etc. For rates: Ozzie, 325-4171 or 462-7783. UKRAINIAN CANADIAN CUL- TURAL CENTRE — 805 East Pender St., Vancouver. Available for banquets, weddings, meetings. Ph. 254-3436. ‘ @ Divorce and Family Law RANKIN & COMPANY Barristers & Solicitors 4th Floor, 195 Alexander St., Vancouver, B.C. V6A 1N8 682-2781 Offers a broad range of legal services including: e Personal Injury and Insurance Claims @ Real Estate and Conveyancing @ Labour Law @ Criminal Law © @ Estates and Wills a deafening denunciation of the cold war propaganda of the ’50s. Using only archival film obtained from U.S. Army, Navy and various civil defence agencies (those who sought to guidethe U.S. public into accep- tance of this horror), the makers have cleverly, at times brilliant- ly, put together a film which shows the government’s evil program: either to dominate the earth’s inhabitants or eliminate them. These excerpts from Army training films, shots of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, civil defence ‘‘educational films”’ sought to assure the children in school and their parents in theatres that while nuclear war will undoubtedly be a hardship on many, basically for those who carefully follow instruc- tions it will be safe and even fun. cover their eyes and bodies when near actual explosions. Then men of God (Army Chaplains) tell them what they have not seen; in sanctimonious tones they are told “‘ . . .in the nuclear bomb God has created one of the most beautiful sights ever seen by man.”’ The penalty of disloyalty is dramatized in newsreel clips of the Rosenbergs going to their deaths as atomic spies; the cold, callous voice of Bob Considine Recruits in the Army are trained on the desert in ways to activities. ; Then, a mock raid. Families hasten into their shelters, where they have two week’s supply of food and other necessities. An imaginary Soviet air raid takes place; finally, the ‘‘all clear’’ signal is given. Out comes the family — father, mother and two children. They survey the land- scape: devastation similar to the flattened, .smouldering city of Hiroshima. The father looks at his stunned wife and children and says cheerfully, ‘‘Well, it’s not so bad, huh? And we’re here] It took the filmmakers more than five years to gather this material from the late ’40s and *50s and at least that long to assess and edit it. Never has it been more clear that the media, and the ad- ministration it serves, seek to misguide the people, rather than inform them. —Lester Cole (This year’s film festival in- cludes two 1930s Soviet film. classics Earth and Eisenstein’s Que Viva Mexico! both on July 14, 7:30 and 9:30 respectively. There are also two 1980s features from the USSR as well as the 1981 Academy Award nominee from Hungary, The Hungarians. Ph. 224-3730 for information; 687-4444 for ticket reservations.) PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JULY 2, 1982—Page 7