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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
What do a duchess, a mad scientist and the president of the United States of America have in common? They will all be making appearances in the St. Patrick High School drama production of The Mouse that Roared.

Teylia Grandjambe, left, struggles to get the 'Q-Bomb' away from the mad scientist, played by Pippa Kennedy, during rehearsal for The Mouse that Roared earlier this week. - Nicole Garbutt/NNSL photo

Amongst those and many more unique characters, the show opened last night on the Northern Arts and Cultural (NACC) stage and will run until tomorrow evening.

"It's called the Mouse that Roared, and I sort of feel that as a theme for St. Pat's, 'cause we're the little guy – let's be honest, my drama room is very small, Sir John is attached to NACC. You know, we're the mouse and I think we can roar," said Emma Smith, drama teacher and director of the play.

"The show is a Cold War comedy," says Smith.

The Mouse that Roared is the story of a minuscule country in the French alps called the Duchy of Grand Fenwick that has nothing going for it except for a wine the residents make and export called Pino Grand Fenwick. When a California winery starts marketing a cheaper knockoff, it decimates the economy of the country.

"They send protests which are ignored and they come up with the conclusion that the only way to solve the problem of bankruptcy is to declare war on America, but they want to lose ... because when you lose, they pay you a largesse," said Smith.

"They figure, 'Okay, we're going to war, we're going to lose. We need a chump who thinks he is actually going to war for us.'"

The fall guy in question, is forest-ranger-extraordinare – of Duchy Grand Fenwick's five-tree forest – Tully Bascomb, who happens to be in love with the Duchess Gloriana.

The leads have been double cast. Alex McIssac, one of the actors playing Bascomb, will be sporting a sling onstage thanks to a broken collarbone.

"It limits my hand gestures. We've had to modify some scenes but it hasn't been that big of a problem," says MacIssac. "I just love acting."

Teylia Grandjambe will be playing the other Bascomb.

Kicker: Spoiler alert

When Bascomb returns from America having won the war, the government of Duchy Grand Fenwick is flabbergasted. Having stole the "Q-Bomb" by accident, he triumphs over the superpower of America.

"The little guy somehow wins because he is well-intentioned and honourable and they stick up for what is good and sometimes the nice guy can win – sometimes the nerdy guy can get the girl," said Smith. "We are the little guy, but we've got a bit of muscle we can flex."

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