Anon(ymous)

Friday evening Grandma and I had the oportunity to see Alba in the Gordon Bell High School production of a drama by Naomi Jizuka called Anon(ymous). It was based on Homer's The Odyssey.

It was a very couragous play to be presented by a High School as it dealt with the topic of refugees from various countries being mistreated in a developed country. There were very few laughs but lot's of serious issues raised. In my opinion however, it was an ideal play for this particular school due to the very multi-cultured makeup of its student body.

Alba had three roles; she was a sewing lady in a sweat shop, she was Belen, an immigrant woman in various positions and she was part of what was called The Chorus. The Chorus was not a singing group, rather a group of black clothed and hooded figures that added a number of dimensions to the production. I thought The Chorus was a great way of adding a very sombre mood to the whole production.

The venue was the Ellice Theatre (formerly Cinema 3) on Ellice Ave. It is attached (side by side) to the Ellice Cafe. This is a cafe/theatre that was started by an organization called New Life Ministries which was headed by the late Harry Lahotsky. He was known throughout the city and province as a tireless community worker in the area where Kathy, Wes and Alba live. I thought it was an absolutely perfect location for the presentation of this production. We aslo enjoyed supper with Kathy & Wes as well as her friend Violet and husband Barry at this Cafe. It's run as a community venture that provides employment and training to some people from this area.

Both Grandma and I gave it two thumbs up in addition to lot's of congratulatory hugs for Alba.