Play opening Thursday remembers Jon Lien, the ‘whale man of Newfoundland’
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — The famous “whale man of Newfoundland” is being remembered in a new play opening in St. John’s this week.
“Between Breaths” follows scientist Jon Lien’s life, moving backwards from the period shortly before his death in 2010 to his first whale rescue in 1978.
Over the course of his career, Lien freed hundreds of whales from fishing nets along the coast of Newfoundland, and was respected by environmentalists and fishermen alike for his work.
Award-winning playwright Robert Chafe said Lien’s mutually trusting relationship with the fishing community stood out to him during his interviews with those who knew him.