Limelight Theatre Company actors, Colette Quin, Brenda Spilva, XXX and XXX
It’s 1995 and the first time WWII nurses Sheila and Bridie have seen each other since they were released from a Japanese prisoner of war camp 50 years earlier.
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Once friends, now the two women harbour resentment towards each other, born out of the trauma of captivity and secrets they each held onto for 50 years.
The idea originated with playwright John Misto, saddened that the nurses who returned from war were never recognised by the Australian Government.
“I can’t build you a statue, but I can write you a script,” Misto said, and The Shoehorn Sonata was born.
This week, Yarrawonga-based, Limelight Theatre Company performed the play at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, after opening in Benalla on Anzac Day.
Yarrawonga’s Brenda Spilva launched Limelight Theatre Company late last year and plays Bridie Cartwright in the company’s latest production.
Her compassion for the characters and the need to portray their story with sympathy and respect drove a performance that she says honours all women and their role during the war.
For Brenda, the experience has come full circle after being cast in the 2022 production by amateur theatre company, Allegro.
“A member of the Australian Army Nurses Memorial found out we were doing the play and came to see it,” she said.
“We began having discussions and she said we needed to get it to the Shrine of Remembrance.”
“We began having discussions and she said we needed to get it to the Shrine of Remembrance.”
However, the complexities of a touring performance proved too difficult for an amateur company, so the project had to be shelved.
Then last year, Regional Arts Victoria was offering grants for touring projects and Brenda pitched the idea to remount The Shoehorn Sonata.
“We had a long discussion and they gave me the idea to go out on my own and start a theatre company with regional performers who tour regional towns,” she said.
“It made sense, so Limelight started from an idea to tour this play and grew from there.”
The Shoehorn Sonata played at the Shrine of Remembrance on Tuesday
The company has four female performers from Yarrawonga, Wangaratta and Boorhaman and The Shoehorn Sonata is its third production.
“Amateur theatre companies do great revivals of good classics, ones that people know,” Brenda said.
“Our vision is to showcase contemporary, meaningful theatre with a focus on new works and those with lasting relevance.
“This play reveals very raw and intimate details of the nurses’ experience and how they navigate secrets they’ve never shared.
“Without John Misto, their story would be largely unknown.”
Wangaratta’s Colette Quin plays Sheila Richards and said Misto had shone a light on the courage and resilience of thousands of women and children who had experienced the horror of war.
“The story is set in two different times, with such realism that it resonates today,” Colette said.
“If only one person leaves the performance realising the power of loyalty and love, then we have succeeded.”
With the assistance of a $13,700 grant from Victorian Veterans Council, The Shoehorn Sonata opened on Anzac Day in Benalla.
On Tuesday, the dream was realised with two performances at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, signifying this new, upcoming theatre company is being taken seriously.
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