Bit. Homechild fails to bring it home By Ashley Whillans espite an all-star the play just doesn’t work. Canadian theatrical Homechild, written by the legendary MacLeod, is cast and award- carefully constructed Canadian gold, revealing a little- winning script, Jane Heyman’s known chapter in our nation’s history —a time between production of Joan MacLeod’s _—_1869 and the early 1930s when over 100,000 needy Homechild fails to bring it children were shipped from the UK to Canada to work home. as domestic labourers. This period, otherwise known as A story about heritage, the Children Emigration Movement, is often kept quiet forgotten roots and hidden in Canada, reminisced only by those who experienced it secrets, the play isa character- _ like Homechild’s Alistair, the main character and driving driven script that relies heavily force of the play. on the audience’s emotional Alistair, played by Duncan Fraser, is one of these investment in the characters’ “homechildren,” who, after falling ill with a stroke, lives. So, it is no wonder that begins to see visions of his long-lost sister Katie (Donna when the characters fail to White). With the help of his deceased wife’s sister, Flora engage with each other and fail (Anne Hagan), son Ewan (Mike Stack), and daughter Hayley Carr and Duncan Fraser to win or arouse the crowd that — Lorna (Jillian Fargey), Alistair finally admits to having a sister named Katie who was adopted upon their arrival in Canada. The family proceeds to track, find and reunite Alistair with his sister Katie, and in the process reconcile with each other and uncover hidden pieces of themselves. While Fraser breathes life, warmth and rage into the role of Alistair and performs some incredible physical work as a stroke survivor, Hagan, Stack and Fargey merely “get the job done” in a humorous and compassionate way and the play overall leaves something to be desired. Maybe it was the sickly sweet visions of Alistair’s ( sister Katie, who haunts the audience as well as Alistair : % : % with her cheesy, plastic grin and shrill Irish accent. Or perhaps it was the lack of connection within the cast; a EA ay a Y CA R a J a S STA RT ANT B & | ie nobody in the cast was really talking to each other, they rather just went through the motions of the script and Get the applied skills you need OFFERING THE hit their emotional highs and lows. Whatever the case, ae FOLLOWING CREDENT : H hild fell short. to join the workforce sooner. aii he ga Sere ae Pee etecensicar]isy There is no doubt that Homechild tells an important BCIT grads are at the forefront of health sciences treatment and research, advancing the state of practice and caring for our communities. Enrol in one of our pase lee aa eral) programs and join a growing network of health sciences professionals who are skilled, knowledgeable, and to live up to its potential as a heart-wrenching, thought- committed to their work. > Bachelor of Science (BSc) provoking and deeply moving drama. Certificates Canadian story and is relevant to Canadian theatre; however, without a dense plot and little pay-off, 2 performed by a flat, emotionally ineffective cast, it fails pO di (erc1 Providing innovative health sciences education is our > Bachelor of Science While my eyes may have welled up a few times, as passion. It can be your future. in Nursing (BSN) soon as my tears dried, I wasn’t left thinking about the Learn more or apply at bcit.ca/health. > Bachelor of Technology 100,000 children who were shipped to Canada, but rather (BTech) how long the line for the washroom was going to be—a superficial thought fitting for the syrupy and superficial > Diplomas of Technology TECHNOLOGY CHANGES EVERYTHING production of Homechild. 15