By Jill Sperling

WCT explores power of sharing personal stories with Armstrong’s War

Apr 4, 2018 | 4:38 PM

KAMLOOPS — Rehearsals are underway for Western Canada Theatre’s next production Armstrong’s War, a story of an unlikely friendship between two hurting individuals. 

The play takes place in a rehabilitation centre, where Corporal Michael Armstrong, injured on tour in Afghanistan, meets Halley, a young girl with an injury of her own. 

Halley comes to the hospital to read to the soldier, and the two find a way to connect through their experiences. 

Director Heather Cant hopes this will resonate with audiences.

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“I hope that they take away how powerful it can be to share your story with another person and how meaningful it is when you listen to that from someone else,” Cant said. “Certainly, I think for myself the magic of theatre is being able to kind of come and spend time in another person’s life.” 

While both characters in Armstrong’s War have physical wounds, the play also focuses on the mental wounds of battle. 

Making his WCT debut as Cpl. Michael Armstrong, Zac Scott has been challenged with understanding the moral injury of his character. 

“Colleen Murphy, the playwright, very specifically has said ‘Michael doesn’t suffer from PTSD, I wasn’t interested in writing a play about a guy suffering from PTSD,’ Scott said. 

“Just in the process of researching the role and doing research for the character I’ve discovered that there are so many other things out there in terms of mental diagnoses that occur from battle fields … I think Michael suffers from a moral injury, which is basically when you start to have some cognitive dissonance because your view of yourself as a person conflicts with actions that you’ve taken as a person.”

Armstrong’s war opens at the Pavillion Theatre on April 12, and will run through to the 21st.