SHACKLETON’S ANTARCTIC DREAM: A Saga of Extraordinary Leadership and Survival
A one-act, one person play about Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition
Trumansburg (NY) Free
Press
“… They told me a wondrous tale
And I strove to write it down
But my pen refused its duty:
And I lost my chance for reknown
But since that vision left me:
I have looked on those sailor men
As worthy the brightest idyll
That poet ever could pen.”
- Ernest Shackleton, age 21, third officer
on the Monmouthshire
Guests at the Trumansburg theater for Louise Adie’s one-woman, one-act play, “Shackleton’s Antarctic Dream: A Story of
Extraordinary Leadership and Survival” on Oct. 17 and 18, 2014 at 7:30 p.m., will get to hear the thrilling story of the Endurance
expedition, acted by one who knows it well. “It's not everyone who gets to go to Antarctica, then come back and talk about it,” claims Adie. "I guess I'm lucky." This is her 12th season in Antarctica, during the Austral summer. She returns each year to Trumansburg to
tell stories about her trips, but this time she’s telling the story of Sir Ernest
Shackleton, Antarctic explorer, and the incredible journey of the crew of the Endurance. Working from books, his
diaries and the writings of his crew members, Adie has reconstructed the trip –
complete with props and changes of costume – as a one-woman play.
Shackleton was not the first explorer of
the South Pole, nor was he, in his time, the best known. Robert Falcon Scott,
under whom Shackleton served in the 1901-03 Discovery
expedition, and who died of cold and starvation on a subsequent expedition to
the Pole, upstaged Shackleton in the public eye for many years.
Times change, and the definition of a hero
changes with the times. Biographies of Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer
who made it to the South Pole first, and of Scott, took their reputations down
a few pegs; while Amundsen was famously well prepared and marched
single-mindedly to the Pole, Scott seemed hardly to understand what he was
doing and was dubbed “a heroic bungler.”
“Scott had delusions… It’s a very sad
story,” said Adie. Adie’s great grandfather was the first Norwegian to be
allowed to start taking whales from the South Shetland Islands, in the
Antarctic in 1905. A sort of Antarctic explorer herself, Adie has led “about
50” kayak trips to the southern continent. “My parents were Norwegian, so I
know these stories well.”
Although Shackleton almost made it to the
Pole in 1909, coming within 97 miles, that honor went to Amundsen two years
later. Since then, however, Shackleton has become a model for inclusive
management. Famously known for the care of his men, Shackleton gave away his
one-biscuit-a-day ration during the Nimrod
voyage to a crew member who was in worse shape. In his diaries, Shackleton’s
concern for each member, down to the ponies and the dogs, comes through.
Although he didn’t succeed in reaching the pole first, or even in crossing the
southern continent (his second-choice goal), he brought himself and his men
alive through extraordinary hardship. After their ship the Endurance was caught in pack ice, they drifted with the ice for ten
long months before the ice finally crushed it, leaving them stranded.
Said Adie, “It took a month for the ship
to die, and they described it as ‘shrieking’. The ship sounded like a living
creature being squeezed to death in the ice.”
Spreading out a map on the table in the
Falls Restaurant, Adie lights up, tracing the path of the doomed voyage. From
November to March they camped on a drifting ice floe, hoping to come within
boating distance of land. On April 9, their ice floe broke up and they took to
the sea in three lifeboats. “The Weddell sea is known as the most dangerous sea in the world due to
the currents and massive amounts of ice, grinding and piling up against itself,” said Adie. They managed to land on
Elephant Island, 350 miles from where the ship sank, and hardly a hospitable
place. And, “Nobody knew where they were.”
“Basically, he gets all 28 men back
alive,” said Adie. “So, how does he do that? Come to the play and find out!”
Trumansburg
Free Press
October 11,
2014
COMMENTS:
“You brought history to life in a very realistic way for me
in this play. You started a dialogue I carried into many conversations
afterward. I was inspired to purchase one of the books for my father, who
absolutely enjoyed it. Your knowledge is vast, your ability to teach and
inspire outstanding and your enthusiasm contagious to those who have the
privilege of conversing with you. Your attention to detail is remarkable from
text to props to costumes. I was convinced Shackleton and his men looked exactly
as you portrayed.”
D. Melito
“This Shackleton play was spellbinding.
You really reminded us these explorers were human as well as heroic. You
depicted it as freshly as if it had just happened and you had
just been there. I loved your props and costumes - each one different,
providing some authenticity, illustrating something rather than just
telling us, and keeping us, the audience, entranced. I’d had some idea of
the story, but to hear it all together, along with enough information about
logistics, ships, and personalities, that made it 'real' for me.
I’m looking forward to your next show!”
N. Tubbs
“This one-woman show really brought to life one
of the most extraordinary stories of survival in Antarctica. In the process she
revealed the many difficulties of exploration on that forbidding continent, and
also Shackleton's strength of character in leading his men to survival and
safety.”
D. Nathanielsz
“What wonderful show! The stage sets looked authentic and Ms.
Adie’s performance and knowledge were spot on. I particularly enjoyed the way
she peppered the performance with side stories of the various team players.
These and other small details added so much to bringing these individuals to
life.”
T. Shaver
“Adie is the real
McCoy! There is no one I know that has her expertise or
showmanship. This is a subject that has become her heartfelt
passion. She has a magnificent story to tell and people would be privileged to
hear it. She has my highest recommendation.”
D. Dore
"Louise is a natural storyteller and her passions combined with her enthusiasm truly captures a listener's attention. She offered a unique perspective in this play and as she weaved together the events of Shackleton's crew she was able to captivate the audience with her thoughtful words and purposefully chosen set. The photos that she included were stunning and fostered in me an urge to learn more about Antarctica."
C. Salabrici
“I really felt taken back in time for a walk through history with
Shackleton and his crew while taking in a performance of Louise Adie's one-woman
play about the struggles of the Endurance
crew. Adie handled multiple male roles well and brought out the important points of the story. I have such an
enriched appreciation of what they went through and how amazing it all was. Mesmerizing performance. Dare I ask, what's next?"
V. Rice
If you need a movie to watch I highly recommend the 2002 version, simply called Shackleton, starring Kenneth Branagh. He appeared to truly capture the spirit of the man. The other characters were totally believable as well: Frank Wild, Capt. Frank Worsley and the others. I wish they'd given the Tom Crean role a bit more oomph...he was a mainstay in the strength, courage and humor department.
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