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Sherrill Grace and Albert-Reiner Glaap, eds. Performing National Identities: International Perspectives on Contemporary Canadian Theatre.

Article Excerpt
Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2003. 320 pages.

Robert Astle Theatre Without Borders

Winnipeg: Signature Editions, 2002. 142 pages.

In a recent e-mail, Vancouver playwright and actor Peter Anderson updated me on the latest successes of The Overcoat, the Wendy Gorling and Morris Panych play in which he stars: the company was off for a tour of Australia and New Zealand following a glorious London run in which the show sold out, received standing ovations on both opening and closing nights, and was watched by the overflow crowds on video monitors in the lobby of the 1,500 seat theatre in which it played. I read the e-mail just after searching through Anderson's papers in the special collections of the University College of the Cariboo for the script of a play in which he starred here in Kamloops in the 1980s, a quest that led me through reviews, programs, and posters originating from as near as Armstrong, British Columbia, home of the Caravan Farm Theatre, which for several years also served as Anderson's home. Although I did not uncover the script, I did receive from my two recent Peter Anderson encounters a graphic reminder of both the ephemeral nature of theatre in general and the fact that Canadian theatre inhabits a world that is at once small and large. In their respective introductions, Robert Astle and Sherrill Grace and Albert Rainer-Glaap point to another way in which the macro and the micro operate in the context of contemporary Canadian theatre: there is a discrepancy between the high level of activity and interest and the relative paucity of published material on the subject. In fact, each explains, the genesis of their respective works lies in this perceived gap. Each work takes a significant step toward not only rectifying the situation but also further extending the focus of the study of Canadian theatre beyond the nation.

From a purely informative perspective, the collections provide illuminating evidence of Canadian theatre's importance on the international scene. Contributors to Performing National Identities include Canadian theatre specialists from England, Germany, Japan, Belgium, Australia, Hungary, and Finland. In "Canadian Plays on the Japanese Stage" Yoshinari Minami's list of over twenty Canadian...

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