Se ee LULU || ___ i REVIEW

‘Headlines’ targets nuclear

es

aheR THE GUN: A Disarm-

nea vue. A Headlines Theatre

: Uction directed by Suzie

oulbee At various locations around iter Vancouver.

tig theme of disarmament — We a uniquely Canadian perspec- Be Is being brought to chur- a union halls and other points nN aN the region . throughout Pil and May as Headlines ene tours with its latest produc- peer the Gun: A Disarming

The company that produced nk Buy Vancouver, the revue that yed to packed houses around “city in the fall of 1981, has turn- Its sights this time on Canada’s S industry. ae the working people of Van- : ver faced with soaring rents and Zt0-vacancy rate, Buy Buy was th a critical and political success. der the Gun has some problems ‘Doth categories, but more than Compensates by some fine acting d On-target political barbs. Our actors — Karen Darcy, Taig Davidson, David Diamond ay Nettie Wild — portray all the f aracters in this fast moving revue at touches on a host of issues found arms manufacture. Utilizing a minimum of props © Actors present parallel stories of ‘Wo individuals’ involvement in the a~> race, the moral dilema each 4. and their final decisions. cat Via (Wild) is a worker in H .h Tech” industries, a Cana- firm which, like real-life Lit- ton Industries, produces guidance Systems for nuclear missiles. One Morning. Sylvia, more out of Curiousity than anything else, stops to chat briefly with a group of onstrators outside the plant Sates. - Concerned when she learns that

a

her work is leading the world.

towards the brink of a nuclear holacaust, Sylvia takes a pamphlet from the group. When she reads it i the lunchroom to fellow Workers, the response ranges from Outright hostility to puzzlement. The other story concerns a visit by High-Tech’s chief executive Peter Goodman (Diamond) to the

Suita

Internationally Acclaimed Soviet Singer And Recording Artist &

Victor Grydin, Bayanist

An aggressive “America (Craig Davidson) lead Headlines Theatre's Under the Gun.

bolic dance scene in

Philippines to sell a manufacturer the latest in surveillance equip- ment. While there, he is made an offer to shift his own operations to the island nation, on the premise that fantastic profits can be made using workers that are paid about $1.60.a day.

It doesn’t take Goodman long to realize that something is very wrong in the supposed south Pacific paradise. While he is an ex- ploiter in his own right, the ruthless suppression of Filipino people in the name profits shakes him pro- foundly. Goodman also faces a choice: invest in a country whose government he knows is immoral, or lose a lucrative market.

Under the Gun is also a satire, and that mode works best in the scenes that might be best described as metaphoric. When an ap- propriately attired Captain America type performs an ag- gressive tango with his subdued partner wearing a Canadian flag, while singing “‘we make such a good team,”’ the revue reaches a satiric high point. It’s clever politics and makes the point well.

y

And Co-op Book Store 353 West Pender Street

Despite fine acting and musical and vocal accompaniment by musician Reid Campbell, the revue suffers a bit from trying to make too many political points. It asks a lot of the audience to comprehend the complex connection between the immoral products of the arms industry, and that industry’s roleas 4 multinational corporation which helps to prop up dictatorships around the world.

But it asking even more of an au- diene to understand references to the Phillipines’ BATAN free-trade zones, under which foreign cor- porations plunder the island nation unhindered by duties on export. One feels that Under the Gun would be a better production if it focused more on one or two themes, and not try to cover all the bases.

Most questionalble are the references to the few underground “peace movements” in the Eastern Bloc countries. Under the Gun begins with a testimony from one of the members of the long- forgotten Charter 77, written by a group of ‘Czecholsovakian dissidents, that flourished briefly in right-wing articles carried in the Western press in the late ’70s.

Another reference is made, at the end of the revue, to a small

- dissident group in East Germany.

The intent of both messages is to convey the impression that the dissident groups are the sole representative of peace sentiment in the Warsaw Pact countries. Not only is this wrong — all

ls a submissive Canada (David Diamond) in a humorous sym-

those countries have millions- strong active peace movements that have functioned for decades — but the contention contradicts evidence given elsewhere in Under the Gun, when a friendly Russian character (Darcy) reminds the audience of the Soviet Union’s pledge last sum- mer never to be the first to use nuclear weapons. : Perhaps the writers — which in- cludes the cast, plus writer Colin Thomas and composer Bob Bossen — felt that the revue would be too one-sided without criticism of the East. All the eulogizing of dissidents does, however, is mar an otherwise fine production. Headline theatre company is a

‘skilled group of actors which, with

only a. few props and minor costume changes (and no stage lighting) convincingly portrays a whole range of characters. They are believable, typical and yet not stereotyped. And best of all, they — either through positive or negative example — encourage us to get out and organize for peace and in support:of liberation strug- gles around the world.

After each performance the cast holds discussions with the audience on the issues presented in the revue. According to Headlines, Under the Gun is modified based on audience comments.

Under the Gun is playing at various locations in Greater Van- couver ‘until May 17, following which it runs in the Vancouver East Cultural Centre May 25 to June 5.

—Dan Keeton

If You Love

see the award-winning NFB film

Friday, Apr. 15, 7:30 p.m. Italian Cultural Centre 3075 Slocan

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COMMUNIST PARTY OF CAN- ADA offices located at 102-2747 E. Hastings St., Van. Ph. 254-9836. For information on political issues or assistance in political activity.

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 8, 1983—Page 11