Award-winning play ‘Jake’s Gift’ to come to Hudson’s Hope

HUDSON’S HOPE, B.C. — An award-winning play about a World War II veteran returning to Normandy for the first time since D-Day is coming to Hudson’s Hope.

The Peace Valley Arts Society is hosting a production of Jake’s Gift, a play written by B.C. resident Julia Mackey, in Hudson’s Hope.

According to a synopsis, the play is about a Canadian veteran named Jake who served during World War II and was present at D-Day — a 1944 invasion which saw allied forces storming Juno Beach to liberate it from the occupying Nazi army. 

To this day, D-Day is the largest seaborne invasion in history, and its success led to the liberation of France and, ultimately, the allies’ victory on the western front of the war.

In the play, Jake returns to Normandy to find the grave of his brother — another soldier who died during the attack — and forms a friendship with a young girl named Isabelle along the way.

Society member Douglas Paton appeared on the October 10th episode of This Week in the Peace to discuss the play. Paton said the recommended audience for the play is anyone ages 10 or older.

“It deals with a lot of themes,” Paton added. “Things like remembrance, loss to a certain degree, the friendships that can be formed around all of those experiences, as well as sort of an intergenerational gap between Jake and the young lady Isabelle.”

Jake’s Gift was written between 2004 and 2007 after Mackey attended a commemoration for the 60th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy and interviewed veterans in attendance.

Since 2007, the play has been performed in over 250 Canadian communities and several international venues, including in Normandy at Juno Beach for the 70th, 73rd and 75th anniversaries of D-Day.

Mackay has won a number of awards for the play over the years, including receiving the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Cross in 2024 for her “artistic commemoration of Canada’s important role in the Normandy landings.”

Tickets for the play are available online. They cost $35 each, with discounts for students, seniors, members of the Royal Canadian Legion and veterans.

Paton said the play is being performed on Thursday, October 23rd at 7 p.m. at the Pearkes Arts and Event Centre, located at 10801 Dudley Drive in Hudson’s Hope.

To view the full interview with Paton, look below.