Burlington Reporter

Many successful literary works are based on real-life events, and "Guns of Ava" is no exception.

The play will be performed on Saturday, Aug. 6 at 6:00 p.m. at the Paramount Theater in Burlington, according to ABC11/WTVD. It is based on events in veteran Kenneth Dula's life. He was drafted to serve in the Vietnam War as a young man and forced to leave his family and loved ones behind.

"I was battling the war and conflict and I was battling a relationship with my woman back home, and I lost out on both," Dula told ABC11. 

The play is based on the novel written by Brenda Lindsey Womble, who is a close friend of Dula and the director of the play, ABC11 reported.

"When I first met my best friend here in 1974, I didn't know what he'd gone through in the war," Womble said. "We were talking one day and he mentioned the fact that he couldn't sleep at night, that he would wake up at 2 every morning. And I said, 'Why, why does that happen?' And he said, 'It comes from the war.' And I said, 'That's been 14 years ago,' and he said, 'I still can't get it out of me.'"

Robin Farrington plays the role of Mama Dula – her grandmother in real life. She shared some insights about Dula.

"I'm proud of my uncle; I'm proud of Ken Dula," she said. "[I'm proud of] his perseverance, his faith in God, his determination, and the fact that he is telling his story." 

"Guns of Ava" is intended to show veterans that life goes on after the trauma of war is inflicted. 

"We're not only doing it for us but [also] all the other soldiers, all the other military families out there who've gone through such and [are] still going through it, that they know that there is a redemption," Womble said.