About the Play:

Cherry Docs has become a favourite of acting teachers for Male Monologues and Male/Male Scenes.

Cherry Docs is a full-length drama by David Gow. A white supremacist skinhead is held in jail for beating an immigrant stranger to death in a racially-motivated fit of rage. He is furnished with a legal-aid defense lawyer who happens to be Jewish. Cherry Docs is a thought-provoking look at who we think we are, and who we really are.

Cherry Docs is a powerful story about what happens when two ideological and opposite men when their paths collide: Danny, a liberal Jewish Legal Aid lawyer, is assigned to represent Mike Downey, a neo-Nazi skinhead, who has kicked a South Asian man to death. The title "Cherry Docs" comes from the Doc Martens rose-hued combat boots worn by Mike when he committed this horrendous, racially-motivated act. The play reveals how this intense and conflicted relationship takes each man through the "eye of the needle" and profoundly changes both of them forever. Over the course of developing a defense for the unrepentant skinhead, the lawyer can barely disguise his revulsion at having to take this case and is forced to examine the limits of his own liberalism, and the demons underlying it. Cherry Docs is an unblinking examination of hatred, the explosive effect it has on our society, and the hurdles that confront us as we set about eradicating it.

Cherry Docs premiered in 1998 at Factory Theatre Mainstage in Toronto and went on to become, internationally, one of the most produced Canadian scripts of the decade. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops, has been produced across Canada and the United States, and had several productions in London and Germany. Cherry Docs has seen translation into Hebrew, Spanish, and Polish and was made into a television film in Poland.

Cast: 2 male

What people say:

"[In] David Gow's examination of class structures and psychological and spiritual imperatives... lies a conflict so deep, a historical prerogative so entrenched, that even considering the implications is deeply troubling." — Variety

"…a provocative exploration of the inescapable and insidious presence of hatred in our society." — Toronto Star

"...poignantly lyrical monologues... larger thematic goals that make Cherry Docs impressive... Gow's belief that we must confront the hatred within ourselves and our society [is] troubling, touching and convincing." — The Globe and Mail

"Provocative – the kind of theatre that gives you something to talk about afterwards." — CBC

About the Playwright:

David Gow is a Canadian playwright, actor, and filmmaker. His plays have been produced across Canada and the United States, as well as in Israel. He holds an MFA in Playwriting from York University in Toronto, and studied Theatre Performance at Concordia University in Montreal. He currently lives in Chemainus, British Columbia.