Hirsch

I had been looking forward to this play since I read Martin Knelman's book Stratford Tempest in which he claimed that Hirsch could not warm to Stratford as a town because it was not Winnipeg! And the Winnipeg enthusiasm was indeed a part of this one act tribute to Hirsch. He spent his teens in Winnipeg, living with the Shack family in the north end, and demonstrated his passion for theatre and storytelling early on, founding the Manitoba Theatre Centre in the 60's. The play is a review of his life, from his point of view and the point of view of the actors and managers who had to deal with him. Alon Nashman who wrote and stars in it, becomes Hirsch, temper and all. Many scenes are very funny; others are quite sad. You get a sense that the man was both brilliant and difficult. There are many in jokes, funnier to the members of the sudience who actually knew and worked with Hirsch, but still accessible to a general audience because they become caricature.