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a soaring adaptation of Mark Sakamoto’s award-winning memoir 

Jeff Lillico, Yoshie Bancroft; Photo by Ted Belton (Stratford Festival)

Forgiveness

By Hiro Kanagawa

Mitsue Sakamoto and Ralph MacLean both suffered tremendous loss during WWII: Mitsue as a survivor of a Japanese Canadian internment camp, and Ralph as a prisoner in a Japanese POW camp. In order to rebuild their lives and their families after the war, Ralph and Mitsue must find the grace and generosity necessary to forgive those who have wronged them. Their paths eventually cross in 1968 when Mitsue’s son and Ralph’s daughter begin dating, and Ralph is invited to Mitsue’s home for dinner.

This soaring adaptation of Mark Sakamoto’s award-winning memoir affirms the power of forgiveness and shows us that in our challenging times characterized by political divisiveness, xenophobia, and race hatred, the story of Mitsue and Ralph’s personal triumphs over hatred, injustice, violence, and bigotry remains vitally relevant and urgently necessary.

Production History

Forgiveness, an adaptation of Mark Sakamoto’s bestselling family memoir of the same name, was originally commissioned and premiered in 2022 by the Arts Club Theatre Company (Vancouver, British Columbia) and Theatre Calgary (Calgary, Alberta). It was developed with support from The National Arts Centre's National Creation Fund. Additional development support provided by the 2019 Playwrights lab at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. 

Awards

  • Short-listed for the Governor General's Literary Awards, 2023

  • Winner of both a Betty Mitchell Award and Calgary Theatre Critic's Awards - Outstanding New Play, 2023

     
     

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