Created by Ingrid Garner
Produced by Ingrid Garner, Fullerton, California
Review by Barb Popel
60 / 14+ / Drama, Solo, Historical, True Story
Eleanor’s Story: Life After War may be the most timely play at this year’s Fringe. Although it’s a true story about the playwright/performer’s 95-year old grandmother Eleanor’s experiences as a 16-year old, it’s as relevant to us today as this morning’s news report about war refugees.
Eleanor was an American girl who lived through the entire WWII in Berlin as an enemy alien, and then through the Russian occupation after the war. She returned home to America in 1947, two years after V-E Day.
Banner image for Eleanor’s Story: Life After War. Photo by Austin Bauman. Artwork by Mark Mendez.
But she returned with only part of her family – the ones who were American citizens — her father and teenage brother. The American government would not pay to bring her mother, little brother and baby sister to the States because they were German citizens.
Eleanor had great difficulty fitting into American society. She’d had little formal schooling in Germany due to the war, and American high school culture was totally foreign to her.
The most difficult thing for her to bear was that trivial things – a word, a noise – would trigger horrible flashbacks of bombing and death. With her mother absent, she had no one to whom she could talk to deal with her traumatic memories. She said, “I felt shattered and some of my pieces were still in Berlin.” It was “the darkest year of (her) life.”
Ingrid Garner in Eleanor’s Story: Life After War. Photo by Austin Bauman.
I and several members of the audience whom I talked to after the show were impressed by the actress, Ingrid Garner. She has a wonderful ability to switch between characters, even holding conversations between two people. Noelle Sammour’s sound design and the deft use of lighting greatly enhance her storytelling.
Eleanor’s Story: Life After War is a “must see” show at this year’s Fringe.
Eleanor’s Story: Life After War is playing at Arts Court Theatre from June 12–22. Tickets are $14 plus service fees at the Fringe box office (3rd floor, Arts Court, 2 Daly Ave.), and at the three satellite box offices (LabO in the Ottawa Art Gallery, Fringe Courtyard, 67 Nicholas St and La Nouvelle Scène). Five and ten Show Passes are also available. Visit the Ottawa Fringe Festival’s website for the show’s schedule and check out their online schedule here.
.gif)
