шш in review DISCOURSE OF THE OTHER - University of British ...

BOOKS IN REVIEWpressionism, epic theatre, naturalism, anddocumentary. In bringing many Europeanand American playwrights to bearon the plays of Ryga, Innes was not inhibitedby what he calls, "the pressure tolimit the frame of reference solely toCanadian comparisons." But he mighthave made more of the French-Canadiancomparisons for his purposes. He citesJean-Claude Germain for whom, as forRyga, "history is the self-justification ofthose in power." Innes, and Ryga too,might well look at other French-Canadiandramatists — Gélinas, Gurik, Tremblay,Loranger — to see how an oppressedpeople have expressed themselveson the stage. The feminizing of Germaine's(sic) proper name throughoutthe book, and the incorrect page referenceto him in the index, suggest moreattention might have been paid to modelscloser to home.Nevertheless, Innes shows well the importanceand development of Ryga's aimto create a Canadian myth, and how hedoes that, especially in his later plays,by dramatizing the working-class hero.Though that is too narrow a view, Rygahas committed himself to it in his recentplays and in his involvement with communitytheatre groups that have beenperforming and touring them in his homeprovince of British Columbia.Some minor shortcomings detract fromthe usefulness of Innes's work. He includesonly one photograph, of Rygahimself, and regrets that "visual materialfrom Ryga's Vancouver productionsproved to be unavailable." Thisbeing the case, photographs from otherproductions would surely have beenappreciated. Quotations from severalsources are often included under onefootnote, which makes the effort of identifyingthem more arduous than it shouldbe. Innes dismisses the need for a separatebibliography because these detailsare given in the Endnotes. This is presumablyfor the sake of economy, but it isa false economy that is no service to studentsand scholars looking for primaryand secondary sources by and aboutRyga. Economy enough was gained bythe compact print and large pages ofthis slim volume.One final irony emerges from eventsafter the publication of Politics and thePlaywright. The Vancouver Playhouse,in conjunction with Expo '87, decided tomount the premiere of Paracelsus, fourteenyears after it was completed andthirteen after that theatre's rejection ofCaptives. Despite a lavish productiondirected by John Juliani, the play wasnot a critical or popular success. Innes'sbook shows that yet another setbackshould not deter Ryga, whose politicalwill and dramatic vision will spur himon to invent new forms of drama in creatinga Canadian mythology. Perhaps heshould consider the Fringe Festival;that's where his people are.JAMES NOONANMISSION TO CHINAALVYN j. AUSTIN, Saving China: CanadianMissionaries in the Middle Kingdom 1888-'959- Univ. of Toronto Press, $27.50.BY I 919 THERE WERE 175 Christian missionorganizations in China whose staffsincluded 321 missionaries from the CanadianMethodist, Presbyterian, andAnglican churches, and more affiliatedwith other groups. In a few years RomanCatholic missionaries would go out fromQuebec. In the face of opposition, poverty,and disease these people foundedchurches, schools, hospitals, orphanages,printing presses, and newspapers — aprocess that began in 1888 and endedfor all but a few in 1951. Alvyn J. Austin,the son of China missionaries from Ontario,has written a lively and detailed238