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It鈥檚 been seven years, more than 725 shows and nearly 1,000 total hours on stage, but Julia MacKey still isn鈥檛 tired of performing Jake鈥檚 Gift.

Ever since she finished the script to her one-person play she鈥檚 been touring it across Canada鈥攅ven making the occasional stop overseas鈥攂ringing audiences the story of a Second World War veteran who faces his demons when he returns to Normandy to visit his brother鈥檚 grave.

Until her first performance of Jake鈥檚 Gift in 2006, MacKey was like any other actor: working the theatre circuit and taking whatever work she could find.

But Peter Mansbridge changed everything.

MacKey explained that she was working on a script about the war when a segment appeared on CBC鈥檚 The National, highlighting the 60th anniversary ceremony of D-Day, set to take place in Normandy.

鈥淎nd I kind of had one of those 鈥榟ey, I鈥檓 supposed to be there鈥� kind of moments. And I just felt like the rest of the story I was looking for I would find there鈥攁nd I did.鈥�

MacKey鈥檚 experience in Normandy was a powerful one. She interviewed veterans, walked the beach where Canadian soldiers landed and wandered through the cemeteries where Allied soldiers were buried.

One grave in particular stuck out to her: a Canadian soldier was buried there, and leaning against the tombstone was a card written by a young boy named Danny Brown. Inside it said: 鈥淚 think you鈥檙e great for helping make Canada a peaceful country. Je me souviens.鈥�

The cemeteries, and the card in particular, were 鈥渁stonishing reminder[s] of the amount of loss that happens in war,鈥� MacKey explained.

鈥淭he number of people who never got to live their lives, or [died] at such a young age鈥攊t鈥檚 kind of astonishing and overwhelming.鈥�

When she got back to Canada it took her two years and several consultations with veterans to finish the script. And when it was done she felt so connected to the characters that it only made sense to transform it into a one-person show.

Since then MacKey, along with her husband Dirk Stralen acting as director and stage manager, has put on the show for audiences (including hundreds of veterans) across the country. She even gave a special performance at the 65th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy.

That day, staring out at the rows and rows of war veterans, MacKey said she was incredibly nervous, because she was telling another generation鈥檚 story, and she wanted to make sure she got it right.

鈥淚 think that鈥檚 why it took me a while to write it鈥攂ecause I was so afraid I would get it wrong,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I think they really appreciate that someone who isn鈥檛 from their generation cares about their story.鈥�

On Oct. 23, thanks to Arts Jasper, MacKey will perform the show at the Jasper Legion. She will also present the Legion with a print from the Canadian Fallen Heroes Foundation, and after the show sell button packages, with 100 per cent of the proceeds going towards the Jasper Poppy Trust Fund.