He Roars, a Studio 58 Fringe play, tells a story of the lives of Charlie and Rose, torn apart by war, and the struggle to have faith in a world void of hope. It is an account of the resiliency of humanity and love in a time of war.
Charlie becomes a soldier who regards war as physical and hands-on. To Rose, a journalism student, war is a time for paper, pen and education. Despite the difference in their perspectives, Charlie and Rose suffer the same pain. They are similarly stifled by the seemingly insurmountable harshness of war.
Drawing inspiration from her own life, playwright Kirsty Provan, who also plays Rose, developed He Roars over the course of five years and based the story on her interviews with soldiers and Special Forces members at military bases in Edmonton.
A Vancouver local, Provan expressed her concern that Canadian stories often get drowned out by their American counterparts and identified He Roars as a work of Canadian focus that stands strong against the tide of American influence.
Crafted with sensitivity, He Roars is not political propaganda. It does not conclude what is right or wrong; rather, it opens up conversations and highlights the far more complex reality of war.
“I don’t want it to be an anti-war story. I don’t want it to be a pro-military story. I just want it to be a life story where there are shades of grey, where it’s not black and white,” said Provan.