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Culture Stage

…And Stockings For The Ladies

…AND STOCKINGS FOR THE LADIES by ­Attila Clemann, directed by Zach Fraser, with Brendan McMurtry-Howlett (RustWerk ReFinery/Harold Green Jewish Theatre). At the Toronto Centre for the Arts (5040 Yonge). Previews begin Tuesday (October 8), opens October 10 and runs to October 24 showtimes at ­hgjewishtheatre.com. $30-$60. 1-855-985-2787.


Not all Holocaust shows focus on the tragic tales of camp inmates. Attila Clemann’s …And Stockings For The Ladies instead puts the spotlight on two Canadian military men, one of them Jewish, stationed near Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the end of the Second World War.

The play looks at the changing relationship between the men but also their interaction with the camp survivors, many of them children. Based in part on the letters Clemann’s step-grandfather Ted Aplin wrote to his wife, Stockings first had a Toronto run in the 2007 Fringe and has been expanded in the current version.

“In researching the show, I found a stack of over 100 letters that Ted wrote from Germany to his wife in Toronto,” recalls the playwright. “Later, I visited Stanley Winfield” – who in the play becomes the character Daniel Friedman – “in Vancouver and discovered that Ted was the motivating force in what they did and Stan was the recorder of the events they were the classic Holmes and Watson.”

Those activities included picnics for the camp orphans, organizing medical aid for some and other life-giving efforts.

“When we finished the Fringe version, we realized there was room for more material. This time around, we also tweaked the material, making the transitions smoother.”

Added are scenes that deal with some later friction between the two Canadian friends, and an episode involving young Jewish survivors who hope to go to Palestine.

“The latter didn’t actually involve Ted and Stan but it did happen, and it makes a strong point in the tale. I’m glad in this retelling to be able to develop coming-of-age stories for both Daniel and Ted: Daniel becomes a man and Ted learns the importance of his family.

“Ted finally figures out that all his work in Germany, which he does over-exuberantly, has made him lose sight of his family. It’s wonderful to be good, but it’s not so positive if in the process you lose sight of those who need you on a more personal level. It’s possible to be too passionate with your generosity.”

The production again features Brendan McMurtry-Howlett, who plays a multitude of characters, including the several puppets who represent camp survivors.

“Both director Zach Fraser and I have a history working with puppets, and we knew that the emotional impact of puppets would resonate better than having an actor portray the most hard-hitting parts of this Holocaust tale. At a narrative level they are a minor part of the tale but are a significant part of its backdrop. We wanted to be sure they were addressed simply, cleanly and elegantly.

“Their monologues are short, usually close to a minute, but their emotional impact is stronger than many of the other scenes. I consider the speeches, written in an elevated language, to be poems.”

Not all of the story is historically accurate in terms of Ted and his friend Stan, but Clemann knew he had to be “honest to the sense of story and the needs of the play. Still, everything is rooted in something true, and there’s always a tie-in between what actually happened to my two central figures and what’s added to their tale.”

Stockings was Clemann’s first play, and he’s since gone on to write others, often, like this initial work, with a historical basis. But he has a special fondness for this early script, in part because of the reactions audiences have had.

“An Antigonish woman asked for photos from our archives, and she responded with a picture of her mother, the last woman born in Bergen-Belsen. Her brother, a history teacher, is working on a post-war history of the camp, and he’s put his seal of approval on the play.

“Another man did his Ph.D. on the camp and traced the lives of a number of the characters. One is Sarah, in Stockings an eight-year-old portrayed as a puppet Sarah eventually moved to Israel and died in 2001. The play’s story is still alive and real for a great many people.”

jonkap@nowtoronto.com

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