Unity

by Kevin Kerr

In the fall of 1918, a world ravaged by four years of war was suddenly hit by a mysterious and deadly plague—the “spanish Flu.” The illness struck not only the young and the elderly, but also people in the prime of their lives, advancing rapidly toward mortality in its victims. This phenomenon in effect brought the terror, the panic, the horror and the sense of helplessness of the Great War home with the returning soldiers—more people died of this epidemic than had been killed in battle throughout the armed conflict.As fear of the dreaded flu begins to fill the town of Unity with paranoia, drastic measures are taken. The town is quarantined in an attempt to keep the illness out. Trains are forbidden to stop, no one can enter, and the borders are sealed. Mail from overseas, feared to be carrying the deadly virus, is gathered and then burned. But when the disease descends upon the town despite their precautions, the citizens begin to turn on each other as they attempt to find a scapegoat for the crisis.Very little has been written about this worldwide calamity which, more than the war itself, destroyed forever the genteel and naive presumptions of European colonial society at the beginning of the twentieth century. Kevin Kerr offers audiences not only an epic chronicle of this forgotten chapter of Canadian history, but a chilling preview of the beginnings of our own new century.The play is a gothic romance, filled with dark comedy and the desperate embrace of life at the edge of death.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Historical Fiction, Read For School, School, Fiction, Canada

130 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[raven ♡˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really liked it! this has to be my favourite thing i've read for school :) sissy + michael 4ever

[Debbie Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for school and I have to say that this was pretty enjoyable. Sure I was confused at times but it was so interesting to see the relationship of the Flu happening in Unity Canada vs. the pandemic happening in my province and city. At certain parts, I was really shocked by what happened and needed to pause for example on page 97 with what happened with Mary. The prologue was very confusing but I think the prologue was setting up the background with Beatrice, Mary, and Sissy where Richard is a soldier and also Mary's boyfriend who was said to propose to her once she came back from the war. It deals with the pandemic outbreak of the flu where social distancing, quarantine, and masks are mandatory leading up to the realities of 2020. I could relate a lot when Doris and Rose gave Mary a tea saying it could kill the germs with home remedies. I saw a lot of people thinking there were home remedies for Covid-19 and some weren't worried about the pandemic and this book really shows that what happened in 1918 with the pandemic is happening again like we are repeating history. I wasn't a fan of the first play Translations and Blood relations was ok but if I had not taken theater class I wouldn't have read a play that was actually quite enjoyable and I had lots of fun annotating it along the way. I rate this 2 stars because it was enjoyable and I liked seeing the relationship between the 1918 pandemic and the 2020 pandemic that we are still facing.

[Roxanne Bedard-Saucier · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the play is too short for the number of characters we are presented with (13 characters in 110 pages), so I did not really identify with any of them. I had trouble differentiating characters because, as I said, there are so many of them and yet we only got basic information about them. So my biggest issue with the play is that it’s so short… I would have liked more depth.

Yet, I like the idea of fighting two wars (flu and the WW1) and the waves of confusions and fake science that emerged (fake remedies or cures). This happens right now in the Covid epidemic, so it was ironic to see that in this play as well.

In the end, it’s a decent read, but not one that stands out. If it wasn’t for the current pandemic, I’d forget this play within a few weeks of reading it. With the current context I’ll probably remember it more, but it’s still not a must-read or anything like it. Decent, but not more.

[Janie · Rating 2 out of 5]

i had to read this for English class. it had been in the school's library lying around collecting dust. so my English teacher thought we should read it. they looked brand spanking new and no one in the school had ever read it before. of course he never read the play before, so when we were reading it out in class anything that happened was as much as a surprise to us as it was to him. i swear this play took my whole grade 12 English class and turned us into a bunch of giggling, immature 12 year old's, including my teacher. we were able to read THREE DAY ROAD by Jospeh Boyden with its very descriptive sex scenes, but we couldn't be composed when a corpse farted or Sissy and Michael had sex tension or Stan and Sunna or hart talking about his first time or even when Glen was taking about the single sock he cherished, for some reason that was really funny. oh, and we definitely could not contain ourselves when Sissy produced the dildo and offered it as a weapon for Bea to use against Sunna because she looked like the grim reaper. that was the funniest part. my teacher had to read the stage direction for that. he got halfway through it and everyone started laughing. he had thrown his book on the ground and had to go out into the hallway to compose himself. meanwhile, his whole class was ranked with laughter for a good five minutes. the best English class ever.
besides the laughs, what was the story really about? people drop dead, there is sexual tension, war is over and sickness is rampaging through the world. but why was this in our library? there has to be a deeper meaning that having to watch to laugh my ass off?

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful play. I've managed to catch two different productions at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre. Historical apocalypses are thin on the ground, but that's the best description for this story of a small town infected by the post-war influenza of 1918.

[ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

ouch
trying not to cry in the middle of class was difficult
act 2 scene 16 kills me

Oct 31 update / bigger than the whole sky by taylor swift . Sissy and Michael. always thinking about this play

[Liralen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's 1918, war is raging overseas, and the small town of Unity is starting to hear rumours of a flu epidemic. It's just the flu, they say. What's the big deal, they say. But the rumours get worse, and the flu breaches Unity's borders, and unity in Unity is no more.

I enjoyed the theatre in this—characters talking over each other, unlikely actions (a man hauling his wife's body through town to the undertaker, a blind man stumbling around in the funeral home) done for the sake of the visual effect, even the occasional (short! they work because they're short!) dream sequence or similar. Did not enjoy the way so many of the lighter moments default to the crass—farts, raunchy jokes, etc. Those things have their place, of course, but I think part of the point here might have been jarring effect, and it wasn't my favourite.

What is interesting: the play was published in 2002 (largely written in 1999–2000, if I remember the front matter correctly), but it could so easily have been written in 2020, or about 2020. The fear that the outside air will carry the disease; the idea that outsiders are the problem; people's reluctance to wear masks; fears of touching letters because they might be carrying the flu...it's all here. The town doesn't turn against itself, not exactly, but it's a very short-lived sense of unity.

[Jom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play is really well written, detailing the characters, setting and time so perfectly. I really enjoyed reading it, and it had a lot of significant relations to our current status, as we ourselves are stuck in quarantine because of the coronavirus. I think that it is an enjoyable play to read, having a really nice summary and intriguing characters, along with a progressive storyline that really draws you into that time period and what they might have experienced. I would recommend people to read this, and if there was a production of this show I would watch it for sure.

[Aimee Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd forgotten all about this play until a friend of mine added in Goodreads. A little awkward, considering I've actually acted in this play (Mary!). I was so fond of the play -- I guess that's sort of bound to happen when you're that involved in a story. It was probably my first proper look into the Spanish Flu, and now that 2020 has brought us a pandemic of its own, it's even more haunting to realise that that play was just a glimpse.

[Roberta Krausnick · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book won the Governor Generals award in 2002. The book is 112 pages long and is written as a play. It takes place in 1918 at the end of WW1. The influenza pandemic is sweeping the planet and many people are dying. They wear masks, are quarantined and stay one yard apart. Many people die.
The book is hard to read as the characters interrupt each other and the story meanders around a lot of issues without solving anything.

[Joti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked seeing a post-war town - granted, the war ends over halfway through but it's the end of it with the Spanish flu going around. and the parallel of the war at home with the war the soldiers fought was really interesting to see - how the mentality lives on and how these people at home have to go into that mindset. All the little romances were cute, but none of them ended well.

[Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I might be bias, as I performed in this play this year.

[Mackenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

holy fuck i love unity i could talk about it forever

[Declan Raven]

Oh.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

My enjoyment was less than a 3 (like a 2 or 2.5) but I'll give it a 3 because I don't think it was a BAD play... just not for me. MAYBE I would have enjoyed it more if I saw it? I don't know.

[Gareth Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really beautiful story.
Loved the ending.
Harsh material was handled very gently, not too cold/unhappy.
Way too relevant right now.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not recommended for when you are sick - may lead to paranoia

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really interesting, but I didn't really like any of the characters, so it was a bit hard to connect. Reading a play really isn't the best way to experience it anyway.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's one good review about the script here, so I won't repeat it.
I saw a powerful performance of Unity:1918 tonight by the Richard Burton Company (students of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama) with an highly ingenious and efficient staging that presented the multitude of mostly interior settings and a seemingly infinite Canadian backdrop between the juxtaposed focii of the narrow Studio space at Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. The effect is almost filmic. The live fiddle score, performed with both presence and discretion, in media res, added a memorable dimension. Exciting and promising young cast.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great play. Very great rendition of how the influenza epidemic effected small towns in Canada. Had to read for class but still enjoyed it. I would highly recommend it but possible parent advisory for some more mature parts.

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this play. Unlike the Spanish flu, prolonged exposure to Unity 1918 doesn't kill me. :D

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant and eerie. Especially resonates now, having lived through a pandemic.

[DJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this play soo much. Engaging characters, great plot line. Surprising ending in a way. Never a boring moment.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Amy Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

read for school. was really depressing and kinda triggered my fight or flight. don't recommend reading in the middle of a global pandemic.

[mac ireland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did this for ARTSTREK 2014 and it was incredible.