The Canadian Jewish News, Friday, October 12, 1973 - Page 11
Of The Fields, Lately
Why was play ever writtea'^
theatre
By LYNN SLOTKIN
Sean Sullivan (left) and Tim Henry play father and son in iDf The Fields, Lately by David French. The Canadian play is now being presented at the Tarragon Theatre.
Voice of Youth
By YAACOV HONIG
Canadian Young Judea is the largest Zionist youth movement in Canada. It is affiliated with both the Zionist Organization of Canada and with Canadian Hadassah WIZO.
Young Judea provides an exciting educational experience in Jewish pride and Zionism. This is done through a multitude of means and ways, encompassing weekly meetings in local centres all over the country, regional activities several times annually and a highly intensive camping experience.
The organization caters to children between the ages of eight and 18 with activities for alumni of the group, as well.
Young Judea operates several camps across the country, including camps Shalom and Solelim in Ontario. One of the more important functions of camping in this youth movement is to train capable leaders for the centres during the year.
The biggest advantage to the camping system, however, is that at a camp.
much more so than in the cities during the year, the opportunity exists for an exciting experience in a totally Jewish environment.
Camp Shalom in Gravenhurst, Ont., has an eight-week summer session. The senior camp is Camp Solelim in Sudbury, Ont., which runs for one six-week session each summer. Its program includes a large amount of Judaica, plus an excellent sports and water program.
At the age of 16, all Young Judeans in Canada are brought together for a summer at Camp Biluim in Huntsville, Ontario. Biluim is the "leadership training institute," and provides an experience which is unique unto itself. At Biluim, programing is on a high Jewish level and by the end ofthesum-mer the campers have been given the opportunity to develop their own programing and leadership skills injwhich-ever areas their individual talents mav> lie.
The following year there is an eight-week summer program in Israel called Biluim Israel. In consists of touring, time spent on a kibbutz, meeting with Israeli youth, educational' seminars, and the tour of the Sinai Peninsula.
For further information write Young Judea at 588 Melrose Avenue or call 781-5156.
One might be tempted to say that David French's new-play. Of The Fields, Lately, now at the Tarragon Theatre, is really Leaving Home (his earlier success) only two years later; but Of The Fields, Lately doesn't come close to Leaving Home in power, perception and freshness in writing.
Of The Fields. Lfttely takes place in the.Mercer family home, in 1961, two years after the events of Leaving Home. Ben returns after an absence of two years to visit his parents and attend his aunt's funeral.
Ben, try as he does, still can't communicate with his father, Jacob, and Jacob is still a bully, proud, "I'm never wrong but you are" man who doesn't try to communicate with Ben. Mary (the mother/wife) is still trying her best to keep the peace between the two. In other words, there is really no change since Leaving Home. At the end of Leaving Home Ben leaves because be knows he can't live with bis father. At the end of Of The Fields, Lately, Ben leaves for the same reason. Some-
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TORONTO -
Beth Tzedec BethMidrash registration eveniiig and opening lecture with Dr. Trudy Welss-Rosmarin, scheduled for last Tuesday, Oct. 9, yere cancelled because of the community-wide rally at the Royal York Hotel called for that night.
AH classes will continue ais o r i gi n a 1 ly . scheduled; Tuesday night classes start Oct 16, Wednesday night classes start Oct. 24 (because of Yom tov) Registrations will be accepted at the synagogue office any day prior to opening classes.
Bonds visit by
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Also, a special registration hour at 7 p.m. will preceed opening classes Tuesday, Oct. 16, and Wednesday, Oct. 24.
Dr. Trudy Weiss-Rosma-rin has promised to come to Beth Tzedec for a closing lecture of the fall semester of the Beth Midrash program.
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TORONTO -
A brief two-hour visit in Toronto by Theodor Meron, Israel's ambassador to Ca- -nada to meet with key Israel Bond supporters brought a response of more than $200,-000 in cash payments for pledges made early in the current campaign. .
It is to help meet an urgent cash deficit situation connected with re-settling Russian-Jewish immigrants in Israel.
In his address to the Toronto group, Meron provided background information relating t6 the recent terror-istv incident in Vienna and the Russian Jews in transit to Israel. t~_:-'~s.
Serving (as co-chairmen of the ambassador's recep- i tion were Max Shecter, Mrs. Ben Walker, Ben A. Himel and Nathan O. Harwich: ■
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events may have changed, but the characters are exactly the same.
AH of which makes one wonder why this play was ever written. I wish I knew.
One might argue that it is unfair to compare the playwright's present work with his previous efforts. But when similarities are so glaring they must be illuminated, and besides, French opens the door by making constant reference to events in Leaving Home.
But this is not to say that Of The Fields, Lately is exactly like French's earlier work. It differs in one large area - the writing. Of The Fields, Lately is full of laughable cliches, such as Jacob's line, something to the effect, "You won't have me to kick around much longer, not when the heart goes." Or Mary's line, "We're all fighting the same enemy (dramatic pause) - time." A few more lines like that and a lot of the power in the play fizzles out. There just isn't the tightness of writing this play needs. One wishes dir-
ector Bill Glassco would have asked French to correct the sloppiness of the script' so that the cast, good for the most part, would not have -such a hard time lifting the play off the ground.
Sean Sullivan is loud and almost always ranting ana raving as Jacob. Sullivan's excellent characterization makes it difficult to like and sympathize with the despicable Jacob. Florence Pater-son is intense, defiant and fidgety as Mary. Sandy Web-
. ster is fine as Wiff. Tim Henry unfortunately is dull and wooden as Ben. There are glimmers of sensitivity, but not enough to make you believe he is a pained, frustrated man.
Of The Fields, Lately doesn't tell me something I didn't know.J don't get new insights into human behavior. It IS just a'repetition of what went before it, and, therefore, it is over-long, boring and a disappointment.
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OCTOBER 20,1973
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