Finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama
Finalist for the Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for Outstanding New Script
Sean Harris Oliver’s The Fighting Season is a searing investigation into the Afghan War through the eyes of a Canadian field medic (Kristy), an OR surgeon (Terry), and a recovery room nurse (Karine). When all three medical professionals experience a life-changing event in the operating room of the NATO-controlled Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit at Kandahar Airfield, they are sent back to Canada for further evaluation. Through Kristy, Terry and Karine’s interwoven monologues we begin to understand the contribution that Canada’s medical teams made in Afghanistan, as well as the devastating impact that war has on the ones charged with saving lives.
The published text of The Fighting Season includes supplemental materials about the conflict in Afghanistan, as well as a foreword by Dr. John H. Oliver MD, FRCSC — Sean’s father — whose deployment in that country inspired the work.
News & Reviews
“The Fighting Season is devastating… Oliver builds an empathy with realistic characters who are at times harrowing, horrific and heroic.” —Vancouver Presents
“Visceral and moving, The Fighting Season shines as a fascinating study of war medics.” —The Review Weekly
About the Author
Sean Harris Oliver is a Canadian playwright, director, performer and filmmaker. His work has appeared throughout Canada and the US in a variety of arts festivals, public readings and theatre productions. Since 2010 Sean has written, performed and directed plays with Hardline Productions, a Vancouver-based theatre production company that he co-founded with Raes Calvert and Genevieve Fleming. Sean’s other theatre scripts include: Eight Seconds, Bright Blue Future, Redpatch, and The Soldier’s Wife.
