life with more cowbell

Billy Bishop Goes to War has a history that goes beyond the title character – equally compelling is that it was created and performed by two men who are not only friends and colleagues, but who have performed the musical over a span of 30 years. I finally saw the show for the first time – with my pal Kira – on Friday night.

Soulpepper’s remount of Billy Bishop was directed by Ted Dykstra (who also worked as sound designer), and created/performed by Eric Peterson and John Gray. Peterson plays an array of characters, including Bishop, while Gray is the pianist and narrator – at times taking part in the action, as well as observing it. The play was updated in 1998 to evolve with the performer’s ages (they were in their early 30s when then first performed it) and the current production presents a Billy Bishop in his early 60s, looking back on his life and his experience of battle and survival in WWI, first in the cavalry and finally in the Royal Air Force.

Peterson (who folks will recognize as the curmudgeonly Oscar Leroy from Canadian sit-com Corner Gas) is an irresistible storyteller, shifting from the somewhat frail older man to the gung-ho 20-year-old soldier, itching to do battle but not so fond of the rain and the mud that is the life of the cavalry. Set and props provide a travelled, life lived from a trunk feel – and some of the trunks onstage bear labelling from the show’s travels – and lighting punctuates the framed pictures that Bishop sets up around the stage throughout. The most moving of these are the portrait of his Margaret, to whom he addresses letters throughout, and an image of the cenotaph outside old City Hall in Toronto. The two men sing songs of the period, evoking time and place, and Peterson does a hilarious turn as a female cabaret singer. There are plenty of  laughs – especially when Peterson invokes the various Brits in Bishop’s story – and we get a sense of how Canada and Canadians (“Colonials”) were viewed by the Empire. There are incredibly poignant moments as well, such as Bishop’s recitation of The Dying of Albert Ball, a poem commemorating a very young and decorated British pilot. The Empire likes its poster boys dead – but the Colonies like theirs alive to tell the tale.

For performance dates, tickets and other info, visit the Soulpepper website: http://www.soulpepper.ca/

For more info on the history, check out the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum site: http://www.warplane.com/

Billy Bishop Goes to War is a show for all ages – and you don’t have to be a history buff to enjoy it. He’s an everyman and an improbable hero – and I guess that’s why we like him so much.