Jake's Gift, a profound and often funny theatre production, is written and performed by Julia Mackey.  This one act play won best play at the Winnipeg, Edmonton and Victoria Fringe Festivals, and will be presented as a special matinee performance on Sunday, May 8 at 2:00pm.  

 

Jake’s Gift is a surprisingly funny drama that tells the story of a Canadian World War II veteran who reluctantly returns to Normandy, France for the 60th anniversary of D-Day. While revisiting the beach he landed on sixty years earlier, Jake encounters Isabelle, a precocious 10-year-old from the local village whose inquisitive nature and charm challenge the old soldier to confront some long-ignored ghosts – most notably, the war-time death of his eldest brother Chester, a once promising young musician.

In June 2004, Julia Mackey traveled to Normandy, France, for the 60th anniversary of D-Day. During that eight-day journey, she interviewed dozens of Canadian, British and American veterans who had returned for the ceremonies. The stories they shared with Julia and her own life-long interest in World War II inspired the development of the play. Mackey wrote the play and is the only actor, playing 4 characters. In August 2006, the first draft of Jake’s Gift received a workshop performance at the Sunset Theatre’s Exploration Series in Wells, BC.

Jake’s Gift began touring in early 2007. Since that time the play has received critical acclaim at festivals and theatres across Canada. The production received its first of many awards at the Victoria Fringe Festival in 2007, voted Best New Play. At the Winnipeg Fringe Festival in 2009, not only did Jake’s Gift win Best of the Fest, it sold out its entire run. This season, Jake’s Gift will tour across Canada, venturing north for the first time to Yukon and Northwest Territories.

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