War for the Holidays opens tonight and runs until December 19
I went to a Christmas party at the Gregsons last night. Actually, the Gregsons don’t really exist; they are characters in War for the Holidays, a play set in 1915, and which takes place in an 1893 Queen Anne house in Vancouver’s West End.
Will Woods, who is well known for his Forbidden Vancouver tours, has taken a leap into theatre, and we’re lucky he has, because the play, which is part history, part improv and part just really good acting, is riveting.
Written by newcomer Tiffany Anderson, War for the Holidays took a year to produce and it shows, from the convincing performances, to the clothes, right down to the trays, decanters and newspapers—supplied by Vancouver’s Salmagundi.
We, the audience, are cast as the Gregsons’ neighbours and are completely immersed in the show, even moving from room to room with them. And, the play delves into some heavy issues—war-time Vancouver, desertion, suffragettes, the old boy’s club, and racism—and it kept me on edge the whole time, and more than a little uncomfortable.
That feeling of unease starts at the front door. Chang, the Chinese houseboy, takes our coats and leads us into the parlour. And, yes, West End families employed Chinese help—it was cheap and it was prestigious. At one point in the play Chang takes us into the kitchen and shows us a picture of the bride he has never met, but who will soon join him in Vancouver.
We have eggnog in the parlour—served by Chang of course—and later plum pudding in the dining room. At one point the women are taken upstairs to share in a secret and we get to see the period bedrooms and stand in the cupola that overlooks the rest of Barclay Square and that was supposedly designed by Francis Rattenbury.
Roedde house is the perfect backdrop for the play. One hundred years ago the actual occupants were Gustav and Matilda Roedde. Gustav founded the city’s first bookbinding and printing company, and they lived in the house until 1925 with their six children and three St. Bernards. At Christmas 1913, the family’s tree burst into flames and the house was only just saved by the firefighters working at Fire Hall 6.
Fortunately that scene is not reenacted, but there’s plenty of drama, including a lot of yelling around the dinner table.
The best thing though, is that the Gregsons are not our relatives. At the end of the play we can leave them and go have Christmas with our own dysfunctional families.