Once Upon a Nation: Fables and Fairy Tales in Canadian Plays About War

Abstract

This chapter interrogates the integration of fairy tale elements, themes, and character types in four Canadian plays about war, namely: R.H. Thomson’s The Lost Boys (2000), Norah Harding’s This Year, Next Year (1995), Kenneth Brown and Stephen Scriver’s Letters in Wartime (1994), Ken Gass’ Hurray for Johnny Canuck (1974), and Billy Bishop Goes to War by John Gray (1978). The chapter argues that the stories told to Canadians about war and Canadian national identity are molded and integrated with myth, fable, and fairy tale characteristics. This is done in order to make sense of and create meaning from Canada’s war history, while also reflecting shifting ideas of national identity based on the where and when the story is being told.