They called them Bluebirds.
The Canadian Nursing Sisters were easily recognizable by their blue uniforms and white veils. During the First World War, more than 3,100 donned the uniform – and served, as part of the Canadian Army Medical Corps, by caring for wounded, sick and convalescing soldiers, prisoners of war and even some civilians.
Facing danger, themselves – through bombardment and bombing and the torpedoes of U Boats, and war-related exposure to disease – some 58 never made it home.
Vern Thiessen’s play, Bluebirds, a timely tribute to the nurses, is White Rock-based Peninsula Productions’ contribution to this year’s cycle of Remembrance-themed shows.
Directed by popular Semiahmoo Peninsula actor/director Lori Tych (Blithe Spirit, The Vagina Monologues), the staged reading runs Thursday (Nov. 16) to Saturday (Nov. 18) at 7 p.m., with a 2 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 19) matinee at Peninsula’s studio theatre in Centennial Park (14600 North Bluff Road.
It provides a compelling sidelight on the history of Canada’s involvement with the 1914-18 conflict. Starring Jan Chadburn, Rebecca Sutherland and Judy Grant, it’s the moving story of nurses Christy, Maggie and Babs serving at the military hospital at Etaples, France in 1918 – their often suppressed hopes and dreams and the daunting daily challenges they face.
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“I was approached to direct this play before I read it, but when I did get the script I was impressed how perfectly written it is,” Tych said.
“There’s a lot of nice snappy dialogue, a lot of playful and funny and charming scenes to offset some very intense subject matter,” she said, adding that she is enjoying reconnecting with Chadburn, who appeared in The Vagina Monologues for Peninsula Productions; Sutherland, with whom she acted in White Rock Players Club’s Don’t Dress For Dinner, and Grant, making a welcome return to stage work after a long absence.
Simply using the power of the writing and the human voice as a vehicle for expressing of emotion, the reading is an exercise in “pure theatre,” enlisting the audience’s own imagination without depending on costuming and elaborate settings, Tych said.
The Canadian nursing sisters of the First World War are virtually a “forgotten group”, she added, but Canadian playwright Thiessen has made them very relatable – and also shed light on “a wonderful pocket of accomplishment for women.”
The nurses, Tych said, had to be citizens of the (then) British Empire, had to have had at least three years of nursing training or experience, and had to be within the ages of 21 and 39.
“Some of them had quite a bit of experience before they volunteered, and there were probably quite a few who were over 40 and under 21,” Tych said. “For me personally, the play really brings out the contributions of women at that time. We often think of the theatre of war as being a man’s world – but if it hadn’t been for these women, a lot of the wounded would not have survived the war.
“They estimate that, of the wounded who managed to reach the hospital, 93 per cent of them survived their wounds – which is an amazing achievement.”
Tickets ($32.09) are available through showpass.com or peninsulaproductions.org, or by calling 604-536-8335.