{"id":32397,"date":"2019-04-19T03:54:15","date_gmt":"2019-04-19T10:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=32397"},"modified":"2019-04-17T19:44:26","modified_gmt":"2019-04-18T02:44:26","slug":"defending-a-neo-nazi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2019\/04\/19\/defending-a-neo-nazi\/","title":{"rendered":"Defending a neo-Nazi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kenton Klassen, left, and John Voth\u00a0co-star in Pacific Theatre\u2019s production of Cherry Docs<\/em>. (photo by Dylan Hamm)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I often wonder, as a lawyer and the child of a Holocaust survivor, if I would be able to defend a skinhead charged with a racist crime. Can a person shut off their emotions and take on a case that is at odds with their moral compass?<\/p>\n

This is the premise of Cherry Docs<\/em>, a two-hander playing at the Pacific Theatre until April 28. Playwright David Gow penned the piece in 1998 as a response, in part, to the homophobic attack by a group of skinheads on his university friend and, in part, to his Jewish Belgian family\u2019s Holocaust experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to explore and come to terms with my own anger at seeing young people dressed as Nazis and adopting Nazi thinking 50 years after the end of a war that killed so many millions,\u201d Gow told the Jewish Independent<\/em>. \u201cNow, 70-odd years later, we seem to have more neo-Nazis than ever before. It looks far, far worse today than in 1998, when someone could (and did) say with a straight face, are you sure this is a problem? It was not good in 1998. Now, of course, it is a problem of epic, international proportions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cherry Docs <\/em>has been produced globally, including a long run in Germany, where, said Gow, \u201cthe critical reception \u2026 was extremely detailed, extremely well-written, unlike anything we see in North America, even from, say, the New York Times<\/em>, in terms of depth and breadth of commentary and analysis. The play ran for something like seven years in rep in Berlin. Two distinct productions have been done in Tel Aviv over the years, and maybe two in Jerusalem.\u201d<\/p>\n

As well, he added, \u201cproductions in Poland ran for 13 years. One Polish production went to Beijing for an international theatre festival and, there, it played with Chinese subtitles, so, an English Canadian play in Polish and Chinese, in China.\u201d<\/p>\n

The success of the play and its international acclaim led Gow to adapt the story for the big screen. Its cinematic debut came in 2006, as Steel Toes<\/em>. It won several awards on the film festival circuit.<\/p>\n

In the two-actor play, which features John Voth as Danny Dunkelman and Kenton Klassen as Mike Downey in the Pacific Theatre production, Danny is a Jewish legal aid lawyer who has been assigned the task of defending Mike Downey, a 20ish, tattooed skinhead, who is charged with murder in the stomping death of a Pakistani fast food worker in a back alley in downtown Toronto. The play\u2019s title represents Mike\u2019s pride and joy, his steel-toed, cherry red Doc Marten combat boots, which he is wearing when he commits his hate-motivated crime. The rationale for Mike\u2019s unprovoked, drunken attack is his perception of the decline and fall of white male supremacy as brought on by what he sees as unchecked immigration, reverse discrimination for employment opportunities and a ZOG (Zionist occupation government) conspiracy of the Jewish elite.<\/p>\n

Mike has been indoctrinated into the white racist youth movement and recites antisemitic clich\u00e9s with ease and conviction. He is a proud foot soldier for the Aryan resistance movement. He goads Danny on by saying, \u201cIn an ideal world, I would see you eliminated, but I need you. I know you will do a good job for me, as you are a Jewish liberal thinker, a humanist, who believes in checks and balances in the system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike insists that he be tried for his crime, which he admits \u2013 although he says he did not intend to kill the victim \u2013 as an individual. \u201cTry me,\u201d he says, \u201cnot the skinhead ideology.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danny aggressively challenges high school-dropout Mike to formulate a convincing defence strategy, taking him through \u201cthe eye of a needle\u201d in an effort to make him stand up and be accountable for his actions.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
John Voth, left, and Kenton Klassen co-star in Pacific Theatre\u2019s production of Cherry Docs. (photo by Dylan Hamm)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The two travel their own paths of discovery through the seven months of legal proceedings. Mike\u2019s journey leads him to a path of redemption, while Danny struggles. Danny must confront not only his violent dislike for his client, but his own racism; in doing so, he explores his Judaism and its tenets of atonement and forgiveness.<\/p>\n

The biblical names of the characters Daniel (in the lions\u2019 den) and Michael (the archangel) suggest an allegory, \u201cA battle from above played out here,\u201d said Gow. As the story unfolds, we see the impact that two ideologically opposite humans can have on each other, and that Danny is no saint and Mike no devil.<\/p>\n

All of the action takes place in the prison, where Mike is being held in administrative segregation. The style \u2013 alternating monologues from the protagonists followed by intense bouts of verbal sparring \u2013 and the sparse set (two chairs and a table) are appropriately stark for the subject matter and the intimate theatre space. The costumes also are uncomplicated \u2013 Mike\u2019s prison jumpsuit and Danny\u2019s business attire. Subtle lighting and sound cues complete the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Klassen is superb in his portrayal of Mike. At the opening night reception, he shared with the Independent<\/em> that he had prepared for the role by talking to a reformed neo-Nazi skinhead, which gave him insight into his character. While Voth is solid as the defence attorney, he is not as engaging as Klassen.<\/p>\n

Two particular scenes bear mention. In one, the two actors stand at opposite ends of the stage, just breathing and looking at each other with no words spoken \u2013 the silence is more powerful than any dialogue. In the second, Mike sits alone on the stage, repeatedly opening and closing a lighter, his face mirrored in the glow of the flame \u2013 again, the silence says it all. Kudos to director Richard Wolfe for bringing all the parts of this production together into a riveting whole.<\/p>\n

As for another reason why audiences should come to see the play, Gow said, \u201cIt is highly entertaining, and that is why it has attracted tens of thousands of audience members. The best-known actor associated with the play has said, \u2018It will recalibrate your soul.\u2019 I am not sure about that, but certainly thought-provoking, I believe … not an average play, in any case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cherry Docs<\/em> is, indeed, a thought-provoking play, whose themes remain timely and relevant. It is difficult to perform and a brave choice for Cave Canem Productions and Pacific Theatre \u2013 it is both a visceral and intellectual experience, suitable for older teens and up, as it contains mature subject matter, violence and profanity. For tickets, call 604-731-5518 or visit pacifictheatre.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tova Kornfeld<\/strong> is a Vancouver freelance writer and lawyer.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kenton Klassen, left, and John Voth\u00a0co-star in Pacific Theatre\u2019s production of Cherry Docs. (photo by Dylan Hamm) I often wonder, as a lawyer and the child of a Holocaust survivor, if I would be able to defend a skinhead charged with a racist crime. Can a person shut off their emotions and take on a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[801,8923,8924,2251,3350,2427,6208],"class_list":["post-32397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-antisemitism","tag-cherry-docs","tag-david-gow","tag-law","tag-pacific-theatre","tag-racism","tag-theatre"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}