Forgiveness at Theatre Calgary
Up next at Theatre Calgary is the world premiere of Forgiveness, adapted from the cherished Canadian memoir that celebrates love, family, and the resiliency of the human spirit. The show is a joint presentation between Theatre Calgary and the Arts Club Theatre Company in Vancouver.
Forgiveness is the acclaimed 2018 Canada Reads–winning novel by Mark Sakamoto. It’s a memoir of Sakamoto’s grandparents and their harrowing experiences during the Second World War. Mark’s maternal grandfather was a Canadian soldier who spent years as a prisoner of war in a Japanese camp. His paternal grandmother was one of the thousands of Japanese Canadians interned by the Canadian government during the war. In the face of tremendous adversity and transgressions, they chose not to live a life of anger but instead to embrace and teach forgiveness. The book has been adapted for the stage by Governor General’s Literary Award-winner Hiro Kanagawa.
Forgiveness is a powerful story that not only looks at our past, but according to the play’s director (and Theatre Calgary Artistic Director) Stafford Arima, also serves as a way to examine our present. “I have profound faith in stories like Forgiveness that we tell on and off our stages. As we confront the ever-changing social, political, and physical landscape of the world, I see the potential for change — effective change — coming from the simple act of sharing a powerful story,” says Arima. “Forgiveness looks at the past through the present and reveals a world teetering on the edge of an abyss. Why do we so enjoy looking back into our collective past? There is a simple answer to this inquiry – we study our past because we can view history from a safe distance.”
Bringing a new work to the stage, even from an award-winning novel, is not an easy task, and this is not lost on playwright Kanagawa. “The phrase ‘it takes a village’ comes to mind as I reflect on how the play Forgiveness was created. I am forever grateful to Ralph MacLean and Mitsue Sakamoto who lived this story, to Mark Sakamoto who shared their experiences with the world, and to his extended family who trusted me and embraced me as one of their own,” says Kanagawa. “The work of creating a production of this scale and ambition could then not have been done without the generous and steadfast support of virtually every resource available in the Canadian theatre ecology. From the word go, both the Arts Club and Theatre Calgary were unwavering in their belief that this play would be produced.”
Forgiveness runs from March 7 - April 1 at the Max Bell Theatre in Arts Commons. Tickets at theatrecalgary.com.
