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Richard Vergette Leaving Vietnam (Paperback) (UK IMPORT)
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eBay item number:395154614470
Item specifics
- Condition
- Book Title
- Leaving Vietnam
- Publication Name
- Leaving Vietnam
- Title
- Leaving Vietnam
- Format
- Trade Paperback
- EAN
- 9781912430956
- ISBN
- 9781912430956
- Publisher
- Aurora Metro Publications The Limited
- Genre
- Performing Arts
- Release Date
- 01/04/2023
- Release Year
- 2023
- Language
- English
- Country/Region of Manufacture
- GB
- Item Height
- 0.2in
- Item Length
- 7in
- Item Width
- 5in
- Item Weight
- 0.4 Oz
- Publication Year
- 2023
- Topic
- Monologues & Scenes
- Number of Pages
- 56 Pages
About this product
Product Information
Jimmy Vandenberg, a decorated Vietnam war veteran, works alone in his garage, servicing the classic American cars of his youth, while struggling to forget the traumas of war. Abandoned by a nation still shamed by defeat, Trump's call to 'Make America Great Again' speaks to Jimmy's anger and resentment - and he is hooked. His new-found politics drives a wedge between him and his wife, but a chance visit by the son of a fallen comrade makes him doubt his convictions and leads to a moment of understanding and redemption. A moving new solo play about the legacy of a war that America wants to forget.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Aurora Metro Publications The Limited
ISBN-10
1912430959
ISBN-13
9781912430956
eBay Product ID (ePID)
27060625626
Product Key Features
Book Title
Leaving Vietnam
Format
Trade Paperback
Language
English
Topic
Monologues & Scenes
Publication Year
2023
Genre
Performing Arts
Number of Pages
56 Pages
Dimensions
Item Length
7in
Item Height
0.2in
Item Width
5in
Item Weight
0.4 Oz
Additional Product Features
Reviews
Richard Vergette tells a superbstory, deep within a well-conceived character; Leaving Vietnam is a relevant,and accomplished piece of theatre making. In LeavingVietnam , Richard Vergette creates JimmyVanderberg , former marine, and survivor of the Vietnam War, looking back onhis life from the bench of the classic car-repair shop he will soon retire fromrunning. His storyspans back to his life before the war, back to simpler days working for theFord motor company, and before meeting Bernice , the woman he wouldmarry, and is still married to. When the war is announced, it proves anundeniable calling to Jimmy to prove his manliness, hisworthiness as a human being. He volunteers. Thatchoice will haunt him down the years that follow, the ghastly blood andmisery-soaked experiences entrapping him with lost comrades, and preventing himfrom ever leaving. Vergette creates a likeable character, a flawed mancapable of both good, and evil. Weathered by life, but still standing, Jimmy isan honest teller of his own story. The storytelling is expertly paced, theevocation of times and spaces understated but more than sufficient. Vergette exhibits particularskill in creating the other characters which populate Jimmy's world.These are real people possessed of distinct voice & thought, memorablecharacters which the audience can invest in. Thenarrative develops naturally, though not slowly, the scenes each necessary totrace the line between Jimmy's traumas, and blessings, and theman he will become. There's an undeniably cinematic feel to the show beingpainted in the mind, and it does reach a suitably emotionally charged climaxwhen our hero is finally given the chance to leave his demons in the past. Perhapsthe intra-Vietnam scenes are a little too understated, relying on popularknowledge of its abundance of desperately tragic miseries, but neither are theysanitized. Vergette hasmany talents as an actor, but his approach to grief struggles -- just a little --to feel entirely genuine. If the tears are streaming down your face...then theyprobably need to stream. Nonethelessthis is an excellent exercise in the dramatic monologue, creating a fascinatingcharacter with a timely, and entertaining story. It's a truepiece-de-resistance when Jimmy brings out that 'Make AmericaGreat Again' hat, made all the more impressive when that turn to the right isdetailed with nuance, and not disdain. Jimmy is no bigot, andcertainly no white supremacist, but the play is clear on the consequences ofabandoning, and villainising tranches of humanity, as so many veterans ofVietnam were. Sometimes, Leaving Vietnam shows, people makebad choices in the best faith available to them. Ultimatelya hopeful piece, Leaving Vietnam is a story of change, and thecapacity for evolve towards a more compassionate philosophy towards ourselvesand others. Richard Vergette tellsa superb story, deep within a well-conceived character; it's a relevant, andaccomplished piece of theatre making. (WJ Quinn, The Quintessential Review), 'A beautifully shocking insight into the lived experiences of a war veteran... emotionally charged and utterly engaging.' ****, Richard Vergette writesand performs an original work about the emotional and psychological collateraldamage of the Vietnam War. Vietnam has become the most cinematic andcontroversial conflict of the twentieth century, and as a cinephile Iapproached this work with a heightened sense of familiarity. Vergetteportrays 'Dutch', a young man from Monroe Michigan, who volunteers to join theMarines and serves one tour. Now, in his early seventies, he owns and works inhis garage, and is trying (and failing) to understand the recurrent butfractured memories of the demilitarized zone (as well as his personal tragedyat the Battle of Hu). Theearly monologues establish Dutch as a working-class man, long since retiredfrom his job at Ford, who is postponing his imminent retirement. Mise-en-scèneis a workshop with no physical manifestation of the war; a visual whichsuggests to the audience that there is something incomplete or unfinishedwithin this character. It takesthirty minutes before Vergette's script gets to 'Nam, but thecharacterisations of Dutch and Alvarado (his Mexican buddy) are well-observedand evoke authentic representations of camaraderie in battle. Using hisexperiences in the war to inform and analyse Dutch's current radicalisationunder Trump, Vergette skilfully prevents his script becoming another in the'war is hell' sub-genre, by recontextualising Dutch's disillusionmentwith 'Merica as decades old PTSD. There isa great difference between a solo show that draws heavily on the performer'sown life, and one that is a fabrication drawing on thousands of hours ofresearch, interviews and archival footage, with the overarching aim of usingthe past to help a current generation understand and navigate recent tumultuousdevelopments. Vergette is believable as a veteran, and whilst his conversationswith the other characters are well-rendered, he avoids distracting us withoutright impersonations. It almost feels as though an old mechanic is tellinghis story, rather half-heartedly, instead of a tour-de-force of regionalAmerican accents. These are minor quibbles because Vergette's decade-spanningstory interacts with the America of BLM, and Trump, and it builds to a powerfulclimax which is rendered more clearly and profoundly than any of the other imagesin the play. This is not merely a serious work derived from contemporary eventsbut it aspires to something more transformative by cleverly establishing theevents of five decades ago within the locus of recent events. * * * *, 'Vergette builds a convincingly complex and damaged character... an ordinary soldier attempting to make sense of, not only his own actions, but those of his country... Vergette is an excellent storyteller - a master of surprise revelations...', Richard Vergettein Leaving Vietnam , from Andy Jordan Productions, providesan insight into the lives of normal American soldiers who fought in the Vietnamwar. The play starts with his character Jimmy Vanderberg working in a Fordfactory in Detroit. His life is straightforward and simple. But, as worldpolitics heats up, he decides to fight in Vietnam to prove himself a man. Whilst in Vietnam, he befriends a Mexican soldier, Alveress, who makeshim question his racist beliefs about foreigners. Alveress saves his life, andholds him accountable for his behaviour. Upon his return to America, he findsthat his 'simple' relationship with his wife is no longer so straightforward.But, more than that, he clearly struggles with PTSD, and lives in anenvironment where he feels he cannot talk about the trauma he is grapplingwith. On top of this, as a soldier of a much-disputed war, rather than beingtreated as a hero he finds people, including his own family, questioning hischoice to sign up and fight as a marine. The play fast forwards to recent political history, as we see Vanderbergbecome a Trump supporter, arguing he wanted to 'make America great again' as itwas during the time of the Vietnam War. These beliefs are then challenged as hetakes a trip to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington with Alveress'son. The play highlights the dire effects society can have on men, who areencouraged to bottle their emotions up and not speak up about their trauma.Through the use of sharp prose, the play offers insight into the effects ofPTSD on soldiers during battle but also upon their way home. It highlights thestruggle of the many soldiers who, despite huge personal sacrifice, were nottreated in the same heroic way as the soldiers from previous wars - despite thedecision to go into war not being their fault, but the fault ofpoliticians. The link between the soldiers losing their purpose, their 'army family',and being pressured to stay silent about the horrors they saw, and their latersupport for Trump, was really interesting. The added angle of Vanderberg's wifecomparing the Trump era to the riots in the 70s was fascinating, althoughpersonally I think more could have been made of this part of the play. Whilst the prose and the dialogue between the characters Vergette wasdepicting in his one man show was often poignant, there were moments when Ifelt it was too lengthy. For example, a long segment of the show was dedicatedto the time in Vietnam, when more time could have been spent exploring the linkto modern politics, and the link to Trump, as this provided a fascinatingangle. However, overall, the show flowed really well, and successfully delvedinto an area of American politics and history with an angle that I thought wasdifferent, providing a much needed insight into one of the many reasons forTrump's election win. It also highlighted the depth of the personal sacrificesoldiers from all around the world make for their country: whether the war isjustifiable or not, their personal sacrifice remains unmatched. * * * *
Intended Audience
Trade
Illustrated
Yes
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eBay item number:395154614470
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Product is 95% alike picture but a little more blurry. Controller play well but had a notice from psn that my joypad wasn't authentic and could by problematic🤷♂️ no trouble so far! Shipping was fast but no tracking and worst packaging ever.. like the box came banged up... send a question to seller never had a reply 😅.... Good product overall, excellent price, fast shipping, wrapped only on 4 sides out of 6, no tracking and never reply... 4★ product / 2★ seller ✌️
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The book is in perfect condition, brand new, and is exactly as described. This item is difficult to find here, and the seller priced it very reasonably. It shipped from the UK to Canada, and unfortunately took a little longer to arrive than the seller hoped, but it was shipped less than 24 hours after I purchased. When I contacted the seller, they were very responsive and helpful. I would not hesitate to purchase from this seller again. Definitely recommend!
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