Wrong place 'n' time

BAILA LAZARUS

When I first saw David Gow's Cherry Docs in March 1999, it struck me as a daring and powerful play. Based in Toronto, it presents the paradoxical scenario of a Jewish legal aid lawyer defending a Nazi skinhead on trial for kicking an East Indian to death. It is full of raw emotion and examines the complex relationship that develops between the lawyer and his client.

It has been reprised this year at the new Onyx Studios, with D. Neil Mark playing lawyer Danny Dunkleman and Daniel McKellar as the racist Michael Downey.

Over the course of several months, the two meet in jail to discuss the case, with Danny pushing for Michael to come up with a defence for his crime; and Michael getting frustrated and, it would seem, more deranged. The circumstances test Danny's liberal ideals to the extreme and several times he threatens to walk out. The time he spends on the case takes a toll on his health and his marriage.

Michael, meanwhile, insists that he be tried for his actions and not his beliefs, wanting a defence that separates the murder from the fact that he is a neo-Nazi.

While the play is still as powerful emotionally, it seems anachronistic. With a heightened interest in hate-related crimes in the past five years and the work of the B.C. Hate Crimes Team, Michael's request seems laughable now. And it is never clear why Danny thinks that Michael, who can barely read, is intelligent enough to come up with his own defence.

As well, in the tiny Onyx Theatre, the visceral emotions, yelling and physical hostility is overpowering, causing audience members to wince visibly, being only a few feet from the enraged actors. Though Mark and McKellar do very admirable jobs with the tough material, it is just the wrong play for that venue. However, it might be worth taking in a performance of the play at least once, if only to ask yourself what you would do if faced with a similar situation.

Cherry Docs runs until May 20 at Onyx Studios, 405 West 5th Ave. Tickets are $15. For reservations, call 778-233-5867. Warning: Course language and full nudity.

Baila Lazarus is a freelance writer, photographer and illustrator living in Vancouver. Her work can be seen at www.orchiddesigns.net.

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