{"id":30861,"date":"2018-11-16T03:55:33","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T11:55:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=30861"},"modified":"2018-11-15T19:07:22","modified_gmt":"2018-11-16T03:07:22","slug":"the-enemy-a-fight-for-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2018\/11\/16\/the-enemy-a-fight-for-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"The Enemy: a fight for truth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jenn Griffin and Paul Herbert in Firehall Arts Centre\u2019s production, The Enemy<\/em>, which runs to Dec. 1. (photo by Pedro Meza)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A doctor in a small B.C. town discovers that the main tourist draw, the springs, are polluted. As she tries to raise the alarm, she runs into harsh resistance \u2013 after all, the town\u2019s economic well-being is completely dependent on the tourism the springs, spa and waterpark attract. Among other things, her findings are discredited, the truth is characterized as \u201cfake news,\u201d and she ends up regarded as a pariah instead of a saviour.<\/p>\n

This very current-day scenario is actually based on Henrik Ibsen\u2019s 1882 play An Enemy of the People<\/em>, the themes of which are as relevant as ever. Firehall Arts Centre artistic producer Donna Spencer has adapted Ibsen\u2019s drama, not only bringing the spa to British Columbia, but making the character of Dr. Stockman a woman in her version, called The Enemy<\/em>, which runs at the Firehall until Dec. 1.<\/p>\n

Spencer, who also directs the production, said in a press release, \u201cRecently, we witnessed a decision south of the border that many of that country\u2019s constituents did not support for good reasons. But the majority of those who had the power to vote supported the choice, angering thousands and potentially impacting hard-earned freedoms and rights. With the Firehall\u2019s presentation of The Enemy<\/em>, I have adapted Henrik Ibsen\u2019s drama \u2013 which asks the question, is the majority always right? \u2013 and applied it to a contemporary issue not unlike the one faced by Ibsen\u2019s version of Dr. Stockman. In this contemporary context of The Enemy<\/em>, the role of Dr. Stockman is written as a female and illustrates the challenges that women face when confronting and disputing the \u2018powers-that-be\u2019 or, as some would say, \u2018the old boys\u2019 club.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Michael Scholar Jr.\u00a0(photo from Firehall)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jenn Griffin plays the role of Dr. Stockman in The Enemy<\/em>. Jewish community member Michael Scholar Jr., is also part of the cast.<\/p>\n

\u201cI play the role of David Horseman (after Captain Horster in the Ibsen), who is a pilot who charters flights to remote fishing and hunting locations across B.C.,\u201d Scholar told the Jewish Independent<\/em>. \u201cHe\u2019s someone who used to work for oil companies, but is now his own boss, trying to keep a low profile, and stay out of political frays. David is a friend of Dr. Stockman, who tries to help her when she is censored and vilified. Throughout the story, we find the otherwise complacent David find his political voice, when he sees a restriction on freedoms of expression come to his small town.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Enemy<\/em> explores the role of the media, the mob mentality, political extremism, corruption, elitism, the environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheatre is a very powerful medium,\u201d said Scholar, who is also the founding artistic producer of November Theatre. \u201cThe way in which ideas are communicated in theatre are through emotion, images and even moral ambiguities. There have been scientific studies done on what happens to theatre audiences when they experience a play live, showing that, when a play is effective, the mirror neurons are firing on all cylinders, creating an emotional, engaging experience that can lead to feelings of empathy and, therefore, understanding.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe poetic form of theatre, with its use of imagery and physicality, allow for abstract thought and even an awakening of the mind and spirit that is unlike any other form,\u201d he explained. \u201cThe ancient Greeks presented dramas to allow their people to wrestle with moral issues communally. It was an important form of public discourse. And The Enemy<\/em> and other socially conscious theatre are carrying on that tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scholar said he is excited to be working with Spencer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known Donna for years, and am thrilled to be working with her and this amazing cast,\u201d he said. \u201cSome great friends of mine are in this show, like my old U of A school chum Daniel Arnold, Green Lake<\/em> cast mate Donna Soares, and clown extraordinaire Peter Anderson. And I\u2019m getting to know some other incredible talents, like Sharon Crandall, who I saw at Bard [on the Beach] this summer; Paul Herbert, who I\u2019ve seen act since living in Edmonton; Agnes Tong, who was great in Les Belles Soeurs<\/em>; Braiden Houle, who just did Kill Me Now<\/em> at the Firehall; and our leading lady, Jenn Griffin, who I know as a playwright and is doing incredible work as Dr. Stockman.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the many intriguing aspects of the play \u2013 both Ibsen\u2019s original and Spencer\u2019s adaptation \u2013 is how the hero, Dr. Stockman, is portrayed. The doctor is not a sympathetic character, in ways that liberals and progressives especially should note. Dr. Stockman considers herself superior to her critics and those who believe them. A recent article in the New York Times<\/em><\/a> \u2013 about why Ibsen\u2019s play is seeing so many remounts in the United States these days \u2013 compares some of Stockman\u2019s language to that of Hillary Clinton\u2019s \u201cbasket of deplorables\u201d statement, \u201cor other comments that people \u2013 perhaps audience members themselves \u2013 have made that imply that those they disagree with are inferior.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is an excellent article in a 2010 issue of Public Health Ethics<\/em><\/a> that can be found online. In it, Terrance McConnell uses Ibsen\u2019s play to examine the competing responsibilities of a physician: to their own ideals, to their family, to their fellow citizens and to public health.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne message of the play is that those with vested interests will try to silence the idealist,\u201d writes McConnell.<\/p>\n

\u201cA second message in the play concerns how the idealist is portrayed by others,\u201d he adds, giving examples of how Dr. Stockman\u2019s opponents succeed in branding the doctor as crazy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this age of divisive rhetoric,\u201d said Scholar, \u201cthis play wrestles with the concept of speaking truth to power even at great personal cost. Ibsen\u2019s story is sadly still relevant today, and Donna\u2019s adaptation puts it in the here and now. I think this production will elicit much discussion, and I look forward to being a part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Enemy<\/em> runs at various times Tuesdays through Sundays at the Firehall Arts Centre, with post-show talkbacks Nov. 22 and 29. Tickets start at $20 and can be purchased from firehallartscentre.ca<\/a> or 604-689-0926.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jenn Griffin and Paul Herbert in Firehall Arts Centre\u2019s production, The Enemy, which runs to Dec. 1. (photo by Pedro Meza) A doctor in a small B.C. town discovers that the main tourist draw, the springs, are polluted. As she tries to raise the alarm, she runs into harsh resistance \u2013 after all, the town\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[8366,1203,8485,8484,6208],"class_list":["post-30861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-donna-spencer","tag-firehall-arts-centre","tag-henrik-ibsen","tag-michael-scholar-jr","tag-theatre"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}