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~ ~ Not the Way I Heard It
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Enderby and District Community Play
May 1999
After a day of heavy rain May 18, the black clouds parted and made way for the opening night of Enderby's community play, Not The Way I Heard It.
This spectacular play, under the capable direction of James Fagan Tait and Rosalind Williams includes a cast of 163 actors and musicians, working to fulfill the demands of 240 different roles.
Not The Way I heard It is a colourful and entertaining depiction of Enderby's History. It features a number of intriguing characters in Enderby's past, and chronicles the bizarre and memorable tales of the small town, beginning in the early 1900's
The play celebrates the growth of Enderby through the twentieth century, as well as recognizing other outlying areas such as Mara, Kingfisher and Grindrod.
The play focuses on the relations between Aboriginals and white people in the area, and depicts the troubles both native and non-native residents battled throughout the years.
For First Nations peoples, it was a struggle to retain their culture in the face of domineering white customs, while for the whites, it was an attempt to reconstruct the familiar world they left behind in the move to isolation of the interior. These challenges echo throughout the play.
Although there is an undertone of seriousness, most of the play is full of laughs.
The ever-hilarious Police Officer Bailey, played by Peter Buxton-Carr, is a character who reappears a number of times throughout the play, on a quest to determine who caused the (accidental) fire at A.L. Fortune School, April 8, 1975.
Dolly Beadle, played by Karine Dobie, is a strange and demanding wife, who has the town in a flurry of excitement over a raffle to sell her most prized workhorse - until the unlucky gent who wins the horse finds out that it is dead.
The tales told in Not The Way I Heard It have been compiled by citizens of Enderby, with contributions from both the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities. With these contributions, a script was then created by Cathy Stubington.
Research has brought to life the intrigues of such characters as Cornelius O'Keefe and Alexander Leslie Fortune, who guzzles rum incessantly despite a thundering voice of disapproval from the Heavens. Their charactrs are depicted as puppets, mastered by Alison MacDonald and John Shanks respectively.
The Brides of Enderby are a colourful and uncivilized group of wives, plaved by Gail Murphy, Jesse Fleming, Doris Shipmaker, Fay Bennett, and Barbara Westerman, who eventually settle on the name Enderby for their little town.
Erica Russ plays the role of Willa Kracov, a mother of five who is down on her luck, arriving in Enderby to find kindness and a new job (albeit illegal).
Lastly, there is Grandma, played by Florence Nicholas, who tells her young grandson the touching tale of First Nation history and how it has regenerated.
The Spallumcheen Band shares their culture, through an impressive show of traditional drumming and ceremonial clothing.
The play includes the telling of a number of Aboriginal legends with origins in the Shuswap.
One tells of the reason for the migration of the salmon, another metaphorically chronicles the plight of First Nation culture after the arrival of white man, and later, First Nations peoples' slow and difficult journey to reclaim their once obliterated culture. The Shuswap River and the cycle of the salmon are two dominant themes in the play.
The First Nation costumes in the play were designed by the talented Marion Lee.
The masks, puppetry and costumes almost steal the show.
Artistic director Cathy Stubington masterminded the creation of many exquisite puppets which greatly enhance the performance.
The collection ranges from a number of small hand puppets, to gigantic puppets which tower fifteen feet in the air, held up by four or five people. Despite their size, these gigantic puppets move gracefully, under the obviously well-practised commands of their operators.
Costume designer Ruth Howard and helpers managed to create over 200 elaborate costumes in just about 12 weeks. The costumes range from corsets and bustles to frumpy house dresses and kerchiefs to poodle skirts and bobby socks.
What strikes one most when sitting in the audience is the sense of companionship between the actors, musicians, crew and audience.
Not only does the play provide a night of laughter, but it also helps form a better understanding of who the citizens of Enderby are, and where they came from.
The outdoor performance starts at 7:30 p.m. and averages two and a half hours in length, with a fifteen minute intermission. Tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, children under six get in free. Tickets available at Uschi's Bistro and the Play Office in Enderby.
Kate Wellburn
Enderby Commoner 1999