THE LONG JOURNEY HOME by Larry Danielsen A one man show from Morden, Manitoba, written in honour of that town's designation as a 2008 Cultural Capital of Canada. Starring Nick Pharoah A benefit performance for the Sackville Legion 87 Main St., Sackville, NB All seats $10 For tickets or information call 506 536 2248 or email us at info@livebaittheatre.com or visit our website at www.livebaittheatre.com. Tickets available at Live Bait Theatre or Tidewater Books in Sackville, NB. The World War II Battle of the North Atlantic will be recognized in a special way this Remembrance Day in Sackville, New Brunswick. The life and death experiences from that time in history will be told in the form of a play as a way of remembering the service and sacrifice of veterans. However, the story is not just for those survivors who still remember; it is for those who have little idea of what young people in that earlier time experienced and did on our behalf. “The Long Journey Home” is a one-man play based on the experiences and courage of a young R.C.N. sailor during the Battle of the North Atlantic, braving the peril of U-boats and the danger of winter storms to ensure that food, fuel, and critical war supplies reached England. The play was written by Manitoba playwright Larry Danielson in honor of the Town of Morden being named a 2008 Cultural Capital of Canada. By chance, both Sackville and Morden were honored with the designation in the same year and at the outset of planning the committees suggested a joint project. Three performances of the play at the Live Bait Theatre Centre in Sackville are the result of that initiative—the first on November 11 (Remembrance Day), another on November 12, and a matinee on the 13th. Sackville town councilor Virgil Hammock visited the Cultural Capitals team in Morden this August and, hearing about the play, he thought it would be a natural fit for Sackville. “We both share World War II history and had corvettes named after our communities – it seemed like a good idea to me,” he said. During World War II, the Royal Canadian Navy named its corvettes in honor of Canadian communities that provided strong support for the war effort. Like Sackville, Morden also had a RCN named after it, and they were among more than a hundred small ships that helped to escort merchant freighters across the Atlantic from 1939-1945. Interestingly, the two corvettes even sailed in the same C 2 group and fought together in key battles of the North Atlantic. While "The Long Journey Home" features a prairie boy as its main character (Ted O'Brien), the setting is in Atlantic Canada and the oceans beyond.
A time to reflect on the costs of our freedom and to honour those men and women who gave so dearly for those freedoms.