Legion sponsoring themed play production Oct. 26

By Heather Cameron
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Parallel Church Auditorium in Taber will serve as the venue to the play ‘Jake’s Gift’ on October 26 at 7 p.m. while the Taber Royal Canadian Legion # 20 plays host to the event.

“The purpose of the event is to commemorate the start of Remembrance Week and to honour the memory of all Veterans,” said Julia Mackey, writer and performer of ‘Jake’s Gift.’ “It is my love letter of thanks to our veterans. I’ve been performing the play for 17 years now and I never get tired of it. I am very moved by how many people are still asking to see this play, and I never thought we’d still be touring all these years later. I promised the many World War Two veterans we’ve met over the years that I will continue to tell their story long after they’re gone, and I hope to do just that.”

‘Jake’s Gift,’ was written by her and will also be performed by her. The play itself, Mackey says, is a one act, one-woman, multi-character play that tells the story of a Canadian WW2 veteran’s reluctant return to Normandy, France, to find the grave of the brother who never came home, and while roaming the shores of Juno Beach, Jake encounters Isabelle – a precocious ten-year-old from the local village. Mackey says that the girl’s inquisitive nature and charm challenge the old soldier to confront some long-ignored ghosts; most notably – the wartime death of his eldest brother, Chester, a once promising young musician. 

‘Jake’s Gift,’ Mackey says, is a one-act play that runs that runs 65 minutes with no intermission. 

“The first staged reading was August 2006, and then I started performing the play in 2007, and since then we have toured to over 265 communities across Canada and internationally including Normandy, the UK and the US. I have performed the play 1079 times over the last 17 years,” said Mackey. “We did not tour at all during Covid but 2024 is our 16th year of touring and sharing Jake’s Gift.”

Mackey says that after the show in Taber, people will be invited to stay and mingle, buy buttons to help support the Legion.

“We will make a presentation to the Legion following the performance as well – a gift from the Canadian Fallen Heroes Foundation of a print called Fallen Hero,” said Mackey.

In addition to that, Mackey says that one of the planners involved with the Taber event, a Mary Ann Smith, has planned to have a cadet in uniform there as well to sell poppies, as the official launch of this year’s poppy campaign is October 25, 2024. 

Smith, Mackey says, has also planned for there to be a display in the lobby commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the RCAF, and have one very special guest attend the event, Taber’s only surviving WWII veteran, 102-year-old Burns Wood, Wood, Smith says, was a pilot during World War Two so the evening will have double significance for him.

“As we approach Remembrance Day it’s always a very special time of year to share Jake’s Gift,” said Mackey. “The play is really about the legacy of Remembrance, and it gives us pause to reflect on past sacrifices and how we can continue to honour those who lost their lives during World War Two and in other conflicts before and after World War Two. We particularly love being presented by Legions as they were and are such a wonderful community gathering place for so many veterans and their families. We hope that Taber community members will come out and experience Jake’s Gift. It will resonate with anyone who may have had a “Jake” in their lives and anyone who appreciates the sacrifices made by so many for our Freedom. It has been described as a surprisingly funny drama. It’s definitely a drama but there are quite a few funny moments in it too. We hope we get a good turnout and look forward to sharing this story of Remembrance with the Community of Taber.”