Waiting for the Parade

Waiting for the Parade is John Murrell’s play, set in Calgary during World War II, in which five women gather to work for the war effort while their men are away. The five women respond very differently to civilian life during WW II, providing a portrait of Canadian society in the 40s: Catherine’s husband is overseas, and she copes by working in a canteen and socializing with another man; Margaret has one son overseas and one who joins the communist party, and she believes that both are lost to her; Janet’s husband avoids active service by working for CBC radio, and she compensates by a display of bullying patriotism and volunteer work; Eve, a young school teacher, tries to keep her students from enlisting, and despises the militaristic posturing of her much older husband; Marta is a German immigrant, whose father is interned as a spy. As the director of the Shaw production, Linda Moore, points out in a program note: “We discovered how the dynamics and tensions between the women were a reflection of the war itself, how the pressure of such extraordinary circumstances reveals character – how some thrive and some recoil, how some find laughter and others only worry. It comes down to getting through, to surviving. As Marta says towards the end of the play, ‘So that’s how she manages to stay alive. I wonder if it would work for me.’” Read more