Why do some soldiers disobey orders and leave the military? Is it cowardice? How does their training affect them? What do they experience and how do they feel when they enter the theatre of war confronting battle?
The reflections and answers to such questions from a number of young men and woman will be shared in the play AWOL: Soldiers’ Journeys to War Resistance, produced and directed by King’s University student Joanna Crowell, who will graduate in the fall with a double major honours BA in Social Justice and Peace Studies and Women Studies and Feminist Research.
Presented by the King’s Centre for Social Concern, the play, which along with Crowell includes fellow students Adam Langton and Michael Ross, is based on a series of personal interviews Crowell conducted with U.S. war resisters who have sought refuge in Canada.
Scheduled for three performances (July 30 and 31 – 7:30 p.m.; Aug. 1 – 2 p.m.) at King’s Dante Lenardon Hall, the heart-wrenching, emotional, raw, and inspiring stories capture the harsh realities of the ‘soldierization’ process, of war, and the change of heart that can take place in the midst of these realities.
Seating is limited and admission will be a ‘pay what you can’ format, with all proceeds going to The War Resisters Support Campaign.