New stage play helps Canadian veterans heal through the arts
Posted May 9, 2023 7:54 pm.
Tunnel at the end of the Light is a play that focuses on the emotions Canadian veterans felt after serving in Afghanistan. The cast involves four Canadian veterans, four actors and a service dog.
Torontonians can watch the cast take the stage Tuesday at Alumnae Theatre in Toronto.
The play was written and directed by Jonathan Guy Lewis specifically for Canadians.
“It’s trying to make sense of what happened in Afghanistan particularly for Canadians. We left 12 years ago, but we’ve just seen what happened (with) the fall of Kabul and the mess, the carnage, the confusion, and a lot of veterans are distressed by that, their service, what was it all for?” says Lewis.
Lewis who lives in England, is a veteran and the artistic director of an organization called the Soldiers Arts Academy in the UK.
In Canada, there is a similar program called Soldiers in the Arts (SITA). It’s a program that offers support to these veterans through the arts and they’re the group behind this play.
According to the Government of Canada one-fifth of Canadian veterans will be diagnosed with a mental health disorder.
Soldiers in the Arts (SITA) provides veterans with support hoping to help them through this journey.
“Telling stories, it’s very healing, so that’s what we are doing. We are engaging a sense of catharsis through sharing stories,” says Lewis.
Cassidy Little is a Canadian veteran and actor in this play. Like his character, he lost his right leg in an IED blast in Afghanistan.
“This is a wake, this is the night before a funeral of a hardened soldier, hardened warrior and the unit that he was in Afghanistan with, have come together the night before in fancy dress to celebrate the life of this man,” says Little.
He continues, “I did get blown up and I have had to put friends in the ground and therefore I’ve had to go the night before in fancy dress to celebrate their lives, so it’s a personal story.”
The production will run from May 10 to 21st, 2023 at Alumnae Theatre. Proceeds from this play will go towards Soldiers in the Arts Programs and productions.
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