By DAVID VAN BELLE Produced in collaboration with Theatre Calgary January 22 to 31, 2015 - SAGEBRUSH THEATRE
INSPIRING DRAMA - After suffering under German occupation in WWII, the Netherlands has been liberated by Canadian forces. But liberation doesn’t always seem like freedom. In this beautiful new play, a Dutch woman and a Canadian soldier create a new world together, as a community discovers what remains of their old lives, and what’s been lost forever.
Byron Allen: Alex King Lindsey Angell: Emma de Bruijn Kelsey Gilker: Marijke Bos Duval Lang: Dominee Herman van Egmond Valerie Planche: Aaltje de Bruijn Trevor Rueger: Miles Cavendish
Jonathan Seinen: Jan van Egmond
David Van Belle: Playwright Daryl Cloran: Director Cory Sincennes: Set/Costume Designer Gerald King: Lighting Designer Jamie Nesbitt: Projection Designer Jonathan Lewis: Sound Designer Shari Wattling: Dramaturg Jane MacFarlane: Vocal Coach Dymphny Dronyk: Dutch Language & Cultural Consultant Lisa Russell: Stage Manager Skylar Nakazawa: Assistant Stage Manager Christine Leroux: Apprentice Stage Manager
SPOTLIGHT SERIES: Being a Canadian War Bride, with Bep Crawford
Excerpt 1 First Impressions
Excerpt 2 Overcoming Language Barrier
Interview
Photos from Theatre Calgary presentation
Review: Dutch woman seduces Canadian soldier in drama that delves into meaning of freedom
Calgary Sun - October 17, 2014
Calgarian David van Belle’s Liberation Days, a dramatic romance set during the liberation of the Netherlands and currently getting its world premiere through Theatre Calgary until Nov. 9, is a certified crowd pleaser. It’s the story of Emma de Bruijn (Lindsey Angell), a Dutch girl who finds escape from the past and hope for the future in the arms of Alex King (Byron Allen), a young Canadian soldier from northern Alberta. >Full Story Play Review: Liberation Days - 3 out of 4 Stars
Globe and Mail - October 21, 2014
A new play ... will provide young audiences an opportunity to see why Ottawa gets [a] shipment of tulips every year play out right in front of them – and may complicate an older audience’s understanding of this feel-good chapter of our military past. It begins cheerily enough, at the end of the fighting in a small village in the eastern Netherlands. Private Alex King (Byron Allen) links eyes with a local Dutch woman named Emma de Bruijn (Lindsey Angell, giving a wrenching but restrained performance)... >Full Story