A new play by Brandon University drama professor James Forsythe will be performed Feb. 28 to Mar. 3 at the Evans theatre. “Safer Ground -- Stories of Afghanistan” is a collection of experiences by Canadian soldiers and Afghans. Through dialogue and speech, actors relate the Afghanistan experience as it happened both on native soil and abroad from differing points of view.

“Because the play is taken from conversations, it will sound like the actors are the characters talking to you, as if you are me listening to them answer your questions during the interviews,” explains Forsythe, whose expertise is in verbatim theatre. “But how it is said, the context I have given it, the music and the visual images that surround each speech create heightened emotional impact and hopefully a sense of the impact this war has had on these two communities”.

“Safer Ground” is the second play by Forsythe with a focus on the conflict in Afghanistan. James explains how he became inspired to tell the stories of war. “Several years ago, I had a veteran of Afghanistan in my first-year theatre class at BU. It was through talking to him that I got the idea to do a play based on conversations like the ones I had with him. That led to a play called “Soldier Up,” which I put on in 2008. But [that play] only told the story from the soldier’s point of view. ‘Who else,’ I asked myself, ‘cares as much about what happens in Afghanistan as our soldiers do?’ Easy answer: Afghan Canadians.”

“While in Montreal teaching a course at Concordia University during my sabbatical year in 2011, I took the opportunity to repeat the interview process with the Afghan community there,” said Forsythe.
Forsythe admits that the five years it took to prepare “Safer Ground” was a tremendous amount of work. “Taking dozens of hours of interviews that were transcribed into text and then editing it down to 90 minutes [was daunting]. Imagine 50 hours of conversations distilled into an hour and a half. But the most challenging element is to take what were intimate conversations and theatricalize them -- give the static visual and dramatic punch.”

Forsythe credits his talented cast for bringing the script to life. “[The cast] have gone above and beyond the call with these roles. They understand that these aren’t characters; they are fellow Canadians and [the actors] understand the responsibility they have been given to honour these people’s stories and voices. Brandon audiences will probably have seen [members of our cast] in other plays in town, but I think they will be pleasantly surprised at the level these student actors have reached with this project.”

 In addition to being a playwright, James Forsythe is an acclaimed actor, researcher, adjudicator and writer. He hopes that “Safer Ground” will be a piece that other theaters will want to look at. “It is a great teaching tool,” he says. “We want to entertain you and challenge you . . . In 2014, the western military units, including Canada, will withdraw from Afghanistan. Is that a good idea or a bad idea? Should we stay or should we go? When you hear the military and Afghan answers, you might change your mind.”