The Clover Report – A World War II Story About Heroic Girl Guides
The FOH PRO Stage
4 Stars
The Musicalmania Production Company returns to the Fringe swept up in a patriotic fever. Few people today know Girl Guides were active during the Second World War working in munitions factories, making surgical bandages and clothes for soldiers, knitting socks and distributing leaflets.
Despite the patriotic support, Canada’s Girl Guide efforts were tame in comparison to European Girl Guides who put their life on the line by joining the underground resistance movement. St. Albert composer-playwrights Cindy Oxley and Molly LeBlanc have dug back through history and created The Clover Report – A World War II Story About Heroic Girl Guides.
The 75-minute musical theatre production first opens just before the war explodes. Hundreds of Girl Guides meet in Hungary for a peace conference. Two guides, Olga from Poland and Alice from France, develop an unbreakable bond that survives war, imprisonment, torture, kidnapping and loss of family. Canadian journalist Peter Matthews from CBC covers the peace conference and its through his eyes stories about the war unfold.
It’s a messy tale packed with the heartbreak of human tragedy. One of the most touching moments comes after Olga is killed. In a gentle duet with the spirit of Olga, Alice sings about her friend's absence. It’s a poignant moment of indescribable sadness yet filled with determination never to give up the good fight.
Directed by Julien Constantine, The Clover Report honours the brave and the bold. It reminds us that heroes come from all walks of life and that ordinary men and women can accomplish extraordinary things in times of crisis.
– Anna Borowiecki
