Actor Dennis J. Hassel came to Estevan to perform the one-person Solitary Refinement play at the Estevan Alliance Church on Saturday.
The play was overwhelming successful with Hassel portraying the story of Richard Wurmbrand, who was a Jewish Romanian citizen during the Nazi and Communist occupation of his country.
“I started preforming in high school and by the time I finished, I joined a touring group in California and that touring group took me all over and I was very happy to get such a good experience,” said Hassel
Hassel got a degree from the University of Alberta and started directing in England. Shortly thereafter, he joined the Shaw Festival. In 1988, he opened his own alternative theatre in Toronto that he ran for 17 years.
“When I wrote Solitary Refinement, I realized it is something I have done all my life, which is one man plays,” he said. “It was exhausting to write the play because the story is wrenching, I cried myself out writing it, but as a writer, I was captivated by the story and I proposed that would be the actor for it as well.”
Solitary Refinement is a play that follows the life of Wurmbrand, who converted to Christianity. When he converted to Christianity, his country was under the full control of communists. Romania was under the Iron Curtin and a large portion of Wurmbrand’s life was spent in misery and torture.
His misfortunes were at the hands of the communists occupying his country and his story primarily revolves around how God helped him through some very difficult times.
“Solitary Refinement was been performed in Manitoba, Southern Ontario, Alberta and now Saskatchewan. Later in 2018 we will be in British Columbia, the Maritimes, northern Ontario and we even have had invitations to go to the Yukon,” he added.
Hassel also has some deep connections to Estevan with his wife and her family being from the community. His wife’s father, Ken Knight, lost a lot of family during The Battle of Dieppe; he wanted to overseas during the Second World War but had to stay behind to take care of the family farm.
The value that Hassell believes his play brings not just to Estevan but many other communities is it allows people to have a border look at the world, and what has happened and is happening.
“If you tell a broad story it becomes too abstract. It is much better to have our audience identify with something like an individual like Richard and his triumph over hardship that people can relate to,” said Hassell.
