The playwright Meg Braem discusses her play Flight Risk (University of Calgary Press, 2023), with Joseph Planta.

Flight Risk by Meg Braem (University of Calgary Press, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Flight Risk

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Recently, the University of Calgary Press published the play Flight Risk. Its playwright Meg Braem joined me recently to talk about the popular play, the themes she touches upon in it, and what inspired her to write it. In the play, first produced in 2017, Hank, a 99-year-old former tail gunner during the Second World War, is about to turn 100. Sarah, a nursing student overseeing his care at an assisted living facility, has to deal with her worsening symptoms of multiple sclerosis, while trying to get Hank excited about his impending birthday celebration. Hank resents the restrictions of his care home’s rules, and both are each lamenting bodies that they aren’t in control of; one looking to the past, while one worries about the future. This new book also contains academic essays by William Pratt, David Hogan, and Philip St. John that look at the themes in the play and provide context, like Second World War, aging in the aftermath of war, and the planes that somebody like Hank would have flown. The book also has director’s notes from Samantha MacDonald. Meg Braem’s plays have been nominated for a Governor General’s Literary Award, and have won the Alberta Literary Award for Drama, and the Alberta Playwriting Competition. We taped this interview at the end of November. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Meg Braem; Ms. Braem, good morning.

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