Playwright Beverley Cooper talks about her powerful drama, Innocence Lost, A Play about Steven Truscott.
Part 2 - Now running in the NAC Theatre until March 16.
Innocence Lost is told from the point of view of a fictional character named Sarah. Why did you choose this technique?
At first I thought about doing the play as a courtroom drama, but I realised the story was so much bigger than that. Then I thought about making Steven Truscott the central character but when I thought about putting words into his mouth, to be so presumptuous as to say, “this is what really happened” it seemed wrong. So I kept looking for a way in. I was fascinated with the children involved in the case, many of whom had to testify. So I created a fictional character, a classmate of Steven and Lynne’s, and tried to imagine the story through her eyes. This freed me up a lot, and helped create an emotional through-line.
What does Sarah represent?
I suppose if I were to analyse her, she is all of us: the audience. We can put ourselves in her shoes and see the story unfold. However, when I was writing her, she was a young girl, a student who had lost a fellow classmate in a horrendous crime, while another classmate was almost hung, at the age of fourteen. And those in authority let her down.
Freelance journalist Isabel LeBourdais also features prominently in Innocence Lost. She wrote The Trial of Steven Truscott, which became an overnight Canadian bestseller in 1966.
Isabel LeBourdais was an amazing woman who fought tirelessly for Steven Truscott’s innocence; she took on the OPP, the military, the justice system, the publishing world. Women didn’t do that in 1966, she was a ground-breaker. And the establishment fought her every step of the way.
Journalist Julian Sher also championed Truscott’s innocence. The documentary he produced for CBC TV’s The Fifth Estate (2000) and his book Until You Are Dead (2001) provided evidence that led to his acquittal. How valuable were these sources?
Very important. The Fifth Estate made an amazing documentary, which you can still see on the CBC website. Julian’s excellent book is the most comprehensive work on the case. But it was also important for me to do my own research, to make sure this was my version of the story. I walked down that county road, stood on the bridge and tried to put together what happened on that day in 1959, piece by piece.
What do you hope audiences in Montreal and Ottawa will take away from Innocence Lost?
I hope they have an entertaining and thought-provoking evening of theatre. I hope they will learn something about this tragic piece of Canadian history. But I also hope they will look at our own communities, how we deal out justice. And perhaps, when it’s called for, question authority and stand up for what is right. But that’s a tall order.
Suzanne Shugar is a Montreal journalist, broadcaster and Centaur Theatre's PR and Web Writer. Interview courtesy of the Centaur Theatre.
