"Padre X" is the amazing true story of Canadian Chaplain, Captain John Weir Foote: the only chaplain to win the Victoria Cross for valour during WWII.
The play opens at a train station in Kingston, Ontario. Foote, having just returned from England, where he was awarded the VC by King George VI, sits waiting for his train. The train is late and Foote (playing a host of different characters) addresses the audience telling them the story of his war years.
Despite being ordered not to go, Foote snuck along on the disastrous raid on Dieppe in August of 1942. The raid was a disaster. Foote was an incredible hero on the beaches, attaching himself to an aid station and saving many lives. When the rescue boats were leaving, Foote jumped out and swam back to shore and surrendered to the Germans. He could not leave the men in his care.
Foote was a POW for three years. His exploits in the camp are a thing of legend, for example starting a band and receiving permission to tour to other camps.
Foote survived the horrors of captivity. He was released one week before VE day.
In the striking final moments of the play, the horror of the memories and the toll of telling his story cause Foote to break down, asking the question: "How did I win the Victoria Cross? I made it home."
Also produced at Fringe Festivals in Winnipeg, Ottawa and Toronto (2010- 2011), Cannery Stage, Penticton BC (2012) and Canadian War Museum Theatre, Ottawa ON (2012).