Till We Meet Again (Reviewed by Maria Juaneza; edited by Natasha Dawsen)

The two hours Till We Meet Again play written by Glory Kadigan delivered a message far beyond war history, specifically the WWII, the Cold War, and the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima. The message was shown in each perspective of every character. A mother and a wife of a surgeon soldier, Maureen who had kept her family from falling apart; a former war surgeon who had seen many horrible things during the war, keeping the pressure of saving his allies, and having to fall in love with another woman – and turn his back on her; and the children and grandchildren having to suffer the consequences of the choices of their elders.

The former war surgeon, Robert, played brilliantly by David L. Carson, who was not able to move on due to reserving the “real” truth of what had happened during his last encounter with Bernadette until his deathbed was completely captivating. The exchange between his granddaughter, Helen, played by Mehret Marsh, brought me and many around me to tears.

The declamatory style opened the door for a great deal of variations in performance.  June Ballinger was outstanding as Maureen; the young but outstanding Miss Marsh surpassed many on stage.

Till We Meet Again as a play was imaginative, wonderful, and rare today for being unique. More fleshing of the supporting characters and some checking into historical actualities will make it more accessible to commercial theatre but in its current form it is entertaining and engrossing.