As audience took their seats to watch Ten Lost Years at the Domino Theatre, they were transported to one of the many tragic chapters of Canadian history.
Providing viewers with a glimpse of the “catastrophe” that was the Great Depression, Ten Lost Years, is based on Barry Broadfoot’s 1973 publication of the same name book. Broadfoot went on a journey across Canada, speaking with ordinary people and documenting their firsthand experiences of the Great Depression.
The play was first staged in 1974 by Toronto Workshop Productions and has been an audience favourite ever since.
Directed by Martha Bailey, a professor from the Faculty of Law, the production ran from April 25 to May 11 and featured 12 actors, including Professor Emeritus in the School of Religion Bill Morrow.
Both Morrow and Bailey share a lifelong ion for theatre, which they’ve pursued alongside their academic careers.
“It started as a docu drama […] then the creators of the show, made it theatrical, by the manner of presentation. So, they added music, there was a flow between scenes, and they had people you know, acting out a horse and cart, that kind of thing. It’s a Canadian classic. That’s what drew me to the project. And as well, it’s a tremendous directing challenge to work out how to achieve this effect,” Bailey said in an interview with The Journal.
Bailey’s appreciation for the theatrical transformation of Ten Lost Years was echoed in the emotional depth of the performances. The incorporation of music and dynamic scene transitions not only added to the play’s authenticity but also heightened its emotional resonance. This innovative approach allowed the cast to bring to life the lived experiences of ordinary Canadians during the Great Depression in a way that was both engaging and impactful.
Morrow found many of the domestic stories and monologues by women in the play to be particularly moving. They portrayed the hardships they endured and the hard decisions they faced during those challenging times.
The stories recounted are not too far from our reality today.
“Some of the hardships people suffered then, you can still see it in our very community,” Bailey said in an interview with The Journal.
One example Bailey brought up was homelessness in Canada and the phenomenon of what she called the “stratification between those who have lots and those who don’t have any place to live.”
The play, though dear to their hearts, was not without its challenges. One particular challenge arose from the “unusual” experience of having the actors on stage for the entire duration of the performance, Morrow said.
For both Bailey and Morrow, people being informed of this particular era of Canadian history, which seems to some extent being “forgotten,” and ensuring stories and experiences of the people from the past are valued and known was the message they were hoping to convey to the audience.
“These stories are so important, and it wasn’t just the young people who didn’t know these stories, lots of us didn’t know all these stories and it was fewer people familiar with what happened during the Depression and so it was really important to tell these stories,” Bailey said.
—With files from Allie Moustakis
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