National Network for Equitable Library Service

Mavis Gallant's only play, which premiered at Toronto's Tarragon Theatre on November 11, 1982, is a comedy that opens in 1942, in the heat of the battle against Fascism, when it was possible for Canadians to cheer for both Stalin and the Royal Family. At home in Montreal, Jenny (18) is impressed by her friend Molly's copy of a political pamphlet written by V.I. Lenin entitled What Is To Be Done? The two young women are fascinated by the refugees who are flooding into the city from Europe, and they spend their spare time on left-wing political activity in support of the Soviet Union, dreaming of the new world they're certain will arise out of the ashes of the war.