Staging an imagined conversation between Tommy Douglas and Athol Murray
Curiosity and intrigue buzzed behind the walls of the Saskatchewan Science Centre on March 26, the opening night of a new play, Tommy and Père, produced by local artists’ company Curtain Razors.
Set in July 1962 during the Saskatchewan Doctors’ Strike, Tommy and Père, written by playwright Arthur Milner, imagines a conversation, somewhat productive, between Tommy Douglas and Athol Murray in the midst of a time of decision-making and extreme tension that still deeply impacts residents of the province today. During the play, the two characters sat in a dark room as they sipped their drinks of choice and spoke about Saskatchewan Medicare, how they felt about communism and their lives up until that point.
Upon arriving at the Science Centre, theatre-goers were ushered into a large room to view an art installation by Bundon Pfeifer Henderson. What started out as an idea of Milner’s to begin the play with a slideshow to situate people inthe events of the time turned into an interactive pre-show experience that immersed people in Milner’s mindset of the work. “Curtain Razors took that and ran with it,” said Milner during the post-show chat on opening night.
The installation featured several double-sided posters of newspaper clippings of local rallies, protests and legal rulings over Medicare; old telephones playing audio of men talking; televisions playing black-and-white content from the time; radios, a record player, vintage chairs and a desk full of papers signed by Father Murray next to a church window.
The play began when Tommy Douglas, played by Jayden Pfeifer, started speaking amongst the audience, while the noise from videos in the room died down. People looked around to find the source of the voice and then Father Murray, played by Cavan Cunningham, also spoke Soon after, everyone was welcomed into the theatre to sit and watch the rest of the play.
According to Milner, this play had been in the works for two years. He was first inspired to write the play when artistic producer Johanna Bundon told him stories about Father Murray from when her parents attended Notre Dame College, the school at which Murray taughtfor many years.
Milner studied Murray’s past, wanting to know why someone so humane and supportive of education could be such a “vicious opponent of Medicare.” .
“I began reading more about him and tried to figure that out, because he seemed such a caring person,” Milner said. “He definitely is a fascinating character, and very impressive in many ways. Why wouldn’t he care about having decent healthcare for [the kids he taught]?”
“I wanted to explore that conflict and it seemed like a good way to do that was to stick Tommy Douglas and Father Murray in a room together and let them have it out. In my imagination, Tommy asks to meet him,” said Milner.
Though there’s no evidence that a conversation like this occurred between the two , there is evidence theycrossed paths.
Playwriting as an inquiry into historical events is something that Milner has explored often throughout his career, especially in Sisters in the Great Day Care War. Most of his plays have been political, with the exception of his personal, one-person play Getting to Room Temperature, which explores his mother’s pursuit of doctor-assisted suicide.
“When I started writing [Tommy and Père],” Milner said, “I was aware that it would reflect our current state. It was such a polarized time in Saskatchewan.”
Tommy and Père closed on March 30. The last four shows were sold out. “The response from the audience was positive; many people were enthusiastic. Curtain Razors wants the play to have a future, and wants to tour the play,” shared Milner, who was grateful to everyone who worked on the project with him.
“It was always great to see their smiling faces,” he said. “I enjoyed their participation a lot.”
