The family matriarch is Jennet Mayes. She lives with her
son Alex and his six children -- five daughters and one
son. We find out late on in the play that his wife passed
away years earlier.
The eldest
of the girls, named Trixie, becomes engaged to her army boyfriend
who is then deployed overseas. Before he leaves, he gives
her a ribbon to wear in her hair until he returns. But as
fate would have it, he is killed and she goes into a period
of mourning.
At the
same time, Jennet's friend Cynthia Cook decides to join the
Women's Royal Canadian Navy Service. During her basic training
she meets and falls in love with a fellow sailor. Because
he is superior in rank, she has to leave the navy in order
for them to get married.
Trixie,
meanwhile, has been seen "keeping company" with
one of the German POWs. Which is to say she has been talking
to him as he goes for a walk with a camp guard. It was common
practice at the time for prisoners to be extended certain
privileges for good behavior, including the privilege of going
on walks outside the camp.
When Trixie's
grandmother finds out about her walks, her grandmother loses
her temper. She vehemently argues that the Germans are the
enemy, and that fraternizing with the POWs is unpatriotic.
Although
Trixie still wears the ribbon her deceased boyfirend gave
her, she wears it differently, causing it to lose it's original
meaning.
In
the final scene. the timeline has advanced to 1962. Jennet
and her son Alex are trimming the Christmas tree with
homemade ornaments that contain pictures of the Dickson
children.
During
the scene we learn that Trixie and her German boyfriend,
Ray, got married after the war ended and he was released
from the POW camp.
After
Mayes leaves the room, Alex finds the ribbon that Trixie's
long deceased fiancé gave her before he went off
to join the war effort. He discovers it in the box of
ornaments and ties it to one of the branches on the Christmas
tree as the lights fade to black.
Just
A Ribbon is another wonderful production written and
directed by Vintage Stock mainstay Marni Hunt-Stephens,
whose attention to detail and clever script writing provides
the wind in the sails of a marvelous cast that includes
some incredibly talented young actresses.
Gisèle
Rivest is simply superb as the grandmother, especially
given the fact that she appears in 90 per cent of the
play and has the lion's share of the dialogue. I also
loved Doreen Guibord as Cynthia Cook, who is quickly becoming
one of my favourite local actors.
The
rest of the ensemble cast includes Sarah Allen as Trixie
Dickson, Nik Cotter as Alex Dickson, Isabelle Strachan
as Emily Dickson, Colin Seay as Willie Dickson, Nadine
Hirst as Amelia Dickson, Eve Oakes as Sid Dickson, Katniss
Gallinger as Alexandra Dickson. Ian McGregor as Rev. Daniels,
Brenda Goulet as Gladys McNab, Katie Webb as Freda Pitfield,
Ella Boileau as Betty Smythe, and Diane Morris, Pat Messier
and Judy Baker as the church ladies.
The
play was produced by Michael Lane and Katrina Soroka served
as the stage manager.
The
Vintage Stock Theatre holiday production has become an
annual tradition for those who appreciate and support
local amateur theatre. The company also stages a Shades
of the Evening lamplight production on the grounds of
the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum every spring, as
well as a murder mystery dinner production in the summer.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)