The black box style of theatre that writer/director Michael Hollingsworth and other members of VideoCabaret developed for his expansive eight-instalment Canadian history series, The History Of The Village Of The Small Huts, engulfs the audience in total darkness, then reveals fast-paced, highly stylized comedic vignettes – to stunning effect.

Part six, The Great War (originally produced in 1992), focuses on Canada’s involvement in World War One, depicting the country’s complex relationship with British colonial masters who first bungled and then minimized crucial Canadian contributions on the Western Front.

Hollingsworth’s funny script, which presents the action as a comedy of manners, features a sprawling cast of historical figures including Prime Minister Robert Borden (Greg Campbell) and General Sir Arthur W. Currie (Richard Alan Campbell). And lest we forget the massive human cost, a Canadian infantry battalion defends itself against gas attacks and charges machine gun posts from Ypres to the Somme to Passchendaele.

When Hollingsworth summons the ghosts of history, they appear in ghoulish whiteface wielding artfully designed oversized cardboard props. Combined with the immersive effect of the black box, this fosters a haunting Brechtian feel.

The cast of six does a stellar job of switching in and out of multiple characters, nailing the comic beats and rapid-fire pacing required to tell such a comprehensive story effectively in such a small space.

Hollingsworth’s meticulous attention to detail, use of vivid colours and fluid storytelling transform the past into a graphic novel come to life while mowing down the myth that history is boring.