As Memorial University launched its First World War commemoration activities, WW100, on June 18 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Great War, three of its theatre graduates were in the midst of a personal First World War encounter of their own.

The Known Soldier, written and directed by Theatre Newfoundland Labrador (TNL) artistic director Jeff Pitcher, features the talents of three Grenfell theatre graduates Adam Brake (BFA '05), Jennifer Furlong (BFA '09) and Craig Haley (BFA '02). According to the TNL website, which features TNL’s Gros Morne Theatre Festival 2014 season in Cow Head, the play tells the story of Tommy Ricketts, the youngest soldier in the British Empire to be awarded the Victoria Cross. This poignant and heartfelt portrayal takes the audience through his life as a boy in Middle Arm, White Bay, to his traumatic experiences in the First World War as a soldier with the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, and on to his later years as a quiet recluse in St. John’s.

Mr. Pitcher feels personally connected to the story – not because he had a tie to Ricketts; rather, because he didn’t. Some years ago he was having a conversation with his father and uncle that brought the Ricketts story to light.

“I was a young artist just starting out,” he recalled. “I was pondering out loud what stories I might like to tell when they mentioned Tommy Ricketts. I had never heard of him. I had graduated from a Newfoundland high school and never heard of this amazing man. I also realized I knew very little about Newfoundland's involvement in the war – I grew up in a town (Grand Falls) whose streets were named after First World War battles: Monchy Road, Beaumont Avenue, Suvla Road, Polygon Road, and although I walked down those streets daily as a boy, I had no idea that they were named after the battles where our local boys had been killed and now lay buried, including two great uncles of mine, Sgt. Walter Pitcher and Pte. Charles Pitcher. I was upset – even angry – and that's a good thing to feel when you start to tell a story.”

Mr. Pitcher has stoked a similar passion in his trio of actors, who will continue to tell this story through more than 30 performances before closing on Aug. 30.

“What this play does for me is fill me with an overwhelming sense of dignity,” said Mr. Brake, who plays the role of Ricketts. “Tommy Ricketts says in the play that he doesn’t want to be remembered for a moment of insanity amongst complete chaos, and I try to respect that as much as I can when doing this show. I’ve come to love Tommy Ricketts, the person. It’s easy to glorify the deeds of the Newfoundland Regiment, but to remember them as people who laughed, loved and lost is a much more fitting tribute.”

Mr. Haley, who plays the role of “The Everyman”, said the play demonstrates how young soldiers “absolutely had no frame of reference to help them understand what they were getting themselves into.

“It really makes one appreciate living in the information and communication age, which provides us with ready access to all sides of a story. I think the greatest and most fitting tribute we paid to the many who sacrificed their lives was the establishment of Memorial University. When we think of truly noble causes, there are few nobler than the pursuit of knowledge. Education is the great equalizer and the impact of having such an institution in this province has been immeasurable."

Ms. Furlong’s character interacts with Ricketts in a “hag-like” fashion, acting as his conscience and memory.

“My character has quite a unique perspective; my role focuses more on "a soldier’s fear". We play a lot with the revival of his childhood memories and friends leading up to the battle. My aim is to reflect Tommy’s thoughts and fears. I would like the audience to be able to see the relationship between Tommy and "The Hag" as more of an inner conflict, and a necessary one. But she is a very playful character too, and likes to test and challenge.”

Like Memorial University, said Pitcher, TNL is planning to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War over the next four years. Each year will see a play about the war, including a new TNL-commissioned play in 2016 inspired by the letters of Fanny Cluett, a First World War voluntary aid detachment nurse, who served in France.

The relationship between Memorial University and TNL, said Pitcher, is an evolving one.

“As an artistic director I would never be able to cast our plays with trained Newfoundland actors without the Grenfell theatre program,” said Mr. Pitcher. “That's an important component of my personal mandate as an artistic director of Theatre Newfoundland Labrador: If possible, to hire the best Newfoundland talent available to tell the Newfoundland and Labrador story.”

And, he said, the results are pretty clear: eight of the 11 actors cast this season at Gros Morne Theatre Festival are either studying at Grenfell or are alumni.

“Like the adage that describes the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the same might be said of Grenfell's actors: "Better than the Best!"