海角社区官网

After Japan鈥檚 attack on Pearl Harbor, his paternal grandmother, Mitsue Sakamoto, was uprooted with her family and forced to relocate from their stable Vancouver home to work in rural Alberta, having lost all their possessions.

Meanwhile, Sakamoto鈥檚 maternal grandfather, Ralph MacLean, who grew up in the tranquil Magdalen Islands in Eastern Canada, joined the Canadian Army and ended up thousands of miles away suffering at the hands of the Japanese in a Hong Kong prisoner-of-war camp.

鈥淒uring that first production, coming out of COVID-19, there was a spate of anti-Asian hate crimes and, for those of us in the production who were of Asian descent, it really made the play poignant and urgent,鈥� said Kanagawa in a Zoom call from Stratford, a few days before the show鈥檚 first preview.

鈥淎nd now, two years later, we find ourselves in a situation where we鈥檙e hearing the same anti-immigrant arguments being used against people in the United States to deport them. In Canada, too, there are people with the same sentiments who have been emboldened by what鈥檚 happening there. So it鈥檚 a sad reminder of how relevant this story remains.鈥�

Kanagawa, a well-known actor (鈥淪hogun,鈥� 鈥淭he X-Files鈥�) and playwright (his play 鈥淚ndian Arm鈥� won the Governor General鈥檚 Award in 2017) first heard about 鈥淔orgiveness鈥� during CBC鈥檚 Canada Reads competition, where the book, championed by Jeanne Beker, eventually won. He was moved by the story but knew that turning it into a play would be a challenge. The book spans decades and criss-crosses the globe.

He found a way into the material and its characters by seeing parallel scenes of buried pain and resurfaced trauma experienced by both grandparents.

鈥淢ark had included these two instances of human frailty in people who had shown tremendous grace and courage,鈥澨齂anagawa said. 鈥淎nd that somehow let me see how I could turn this story into a piece of theatre.鈥�

While Sakamoto himself is a character in the memoir, especially in the final third, he doesn鈥檛 show up in the play.

鈥淭he story was so big and there are so many characters, I couldn鈥檛 find a way to work Mark鈥檚 story into the pre-war and wartime story of Mitsue and Ralph,鈥� said Kanagawa. But there is a reference to him near the end of the play that he hopes audiences find moving.

The playwright has made major changes to the script; a recent second printing of the published play reflects the Stratford production.

鈥淎s an actor, I have a keen understanding of the collaborative nature of the art form, and actors often ignore stage directions and punctuation,鈥� he said, laughing. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not useful to be precious about the words. But it鈥檚 also a testament to the collaborative spirit that Stafford (Arima, who鈥檚 directing) creates not only for me but for all of the artists involved. We鈥檙e always bouncing ideas around, trying to make the story and characters clearer.鈥�

Arima, who co-commissioned the play (with Vancouver鈥檚 Arts Club) for Theatre Calgary, where he鈥檚 artistic director, is excited about the challenge of staging 鈥淔orgiveness鈥� at the Tom Patterson Theatre, with its signature thrust stage.

鈥淚t’s such a beautiful space 鈥� it鈥檚 like a runway,鈥� said Arima on the same Zoom call. 鈥淭here鈥檚 an abstractness and impressionistic energy about the theatre because of its elongated stage and the fact that you have people sitting on three sides. That kind of forces you to be creative. What鈥檚 great is Hiro鈥檚 adaptation is in many ways abstract and impressionistic. We鈥檝e been able to find ways to keep the story alive and interesting and full of surprises.鈥�

While Kanagawa was born in Japan and immigrated to Canada with his family in the 1960s, Arima has a personal connection to the internment camps. His father is Japanese-Canadian (his mother is Chinese-Canadian), and several relatives on his father鈥檚 side experienced displacement and relocation first-hand.

When, a decade ago on Broadway, he directed the George Takei-Lea Salonga musical 鈥淎llegiance,鈥� about the experience of Japanese-Americans interned during the war, he sat down with his aunts and uncles to hear about their experiences, but ultimately decided he didn鈥檛 want to reopen any wounds.

Both he and Kanagawa see 鈥淔orgiveness鈥� as more than a show about the war. It鈥檚 about what forgiveness means today 鈥� especially now, when society feels so divided and filled with anger.

鈥淗iro, the cast and I have had so many conversations about forgiveness,鈥� said Arima. 鈥淭he moral of the story isn鈥檛 that you forgive and forget. You can move through the pain. But you can鈥檛 forget or ignore it. The question is: how do you not pass this anger, resentment, hurt and pain onto the next generation?鈥�

Kanagawa agrees. On the first day of rehearsals at Stratford, he recalled author Sakamoto saying that forgiveness wasn鈥檛 a single event; it was a continuing process.

鈥淵ou might forgive something today, but a month or year from now, you may have to go through that process again. I think that鈥檚 a valuable lesson.鈥�

Kanagawa听recalls one older white man coming up to him after a performance of the play in Calgary.

鈥淗e said he thought he was going to be in for 鈥榯wo-and-a-half hours of white guilt,鈥� and was thankful that that鈥檚 not what happened,鈥� said Kanagawa.

鈥淭here鈥檚 the perception that this play is a Japanese-Canadian internment play and is going to be very grim. But that鈥檚 not the whole story. First and foremost, it鈥檚 a Canadian play. And all of Canada can appreciate and be proud of what this country has and what it represents, and can heal from that. That鈥檚 my hope.鈥�

鈥淔orgiveness鈥� runs until Sept. 27 at the Tom Patterson Theatre, 111 Lakeside Dr., Stratford, Ont. Visit 听or call 1-800-567-1600 for tickets and more information.