Cherry Docs Notes on the Production
CIVIL RESISTANCE AND ACTIVISM: DANNY’S NEEDLE
The hatred of racist skinhead and neo-Nazi organizations is now aggravated by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Despite their common hatred for non-white races and any “other,” these organizations remain separated both by geography and by their varying degrees of extremism. However, the emergence of the Internet as a means of communication keeps like-minded chapters in contact with each other, providing mutual support for their philosophies and making their “message” available to the general public.(1)
Through reformation opportunities and outreach, however, some skinheads have renounced their culture and hatred altogether. For example, Frank Meeink, author of Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead, has devoted himself to telling the story of his transformation from a skinhead to an anti-hate activist. Meeink grew up in South Philly as a child of a broken family living in an impoverished community. He joined the ranks of skinheads as a way to express his ethnic pride and found in it a place to belong. His actions landed him in jail for a hate crime; while serving time, he had no choice but to interact with people of all backgrounds. Re-emerging into society with serious doubts about his skinhead beliefs, Meeink became a full-fledged anti-hate activist in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombings. He now speaks on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League and involves himself with community youth in his “Harmony Through Hockey” program.(2)
JEWISH THOUGHT
Many Jewish sources discuss the appropriate way to deal with crime and conflict. A basic tenet of Judaism is forgiveness and atonement, most especially during the “Days of Awe,” the days which fall between Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). During these days, one is encouraged to engage in self-reflection and to ask forgiveness from those against whom one has committed a wrong. Indeed, Judaism considers the need to ask forgiveness of others to be of greater importance than asking forgiveness from a supreme being. Likewise, those from whom forgiveness is sincerely requested are obligated to grant it.
Some Jewish texts suggest that befriending one’s enemy is the ultimate act of heroism and that the only way to end a cycle of hate is to transcend it with forgiveness and humility.(3) Others point to the three separate references to “an eye for an eye,” in the Hebrew Bible as justifying the violent reaction to an act of violence. The Talmud rejects this reading of the phrase and concludes that it is meant to refer to monetary damages for bodily injury.
In A Jewish Perspective on Forgiveness, Jean Graubart includes this powerful quote by Golda Meir, addressing Egyptian president Anwar Sadat during his peace mission to Jerusalem: “I can forgive you for killing my boys, but I can never forgive you for making our boys kill yours.” Graubart writes: “Jewish sources tell us that forgiveness fulfills two distinct roles, one symbolic and the other personal. In this sense, we are commanded to accept someone’s apology in order to facilitate his or her spiritual development.”(4)
FINDING COMMON GROUND
Playwright David Gow works Jewish symbols into the dramatic structure of Cherry Docs, which is organized into seven acts or “Days.” These “Seven Days” correspond, approximately, with seven holidays on the Hebrew calendar.
The play’s structure has further religious significance because seven – sheva (“shay-vah”) in Hebrew – stands for many things in Judaism: seven candles in a menorah; seven days in the Succoth (Feast of Booths/fall harvest) holiday (and Passover, if celebrated in Israel); seven days of celebration following a marriage; seven days of mourning after a death; seven fruits eaten during the Tu Bishvat holiday; seven days in the creation of the world, culminating on the seventh and holiest day, Shabbat.(5) In some forms of Kabbalah, or Jewish mystical thought, there exist seven interconnected dimensions in the universe;(6) Danny, on the Seventh Day of the play, refers to these entities as “threads,” woven into a fabric, which “interweave and dance through one another, in all their dimensions.”(7) On some level, both Danny and Mike feel this interconnectedness. Whether they like it or not, they are bound to each other by their own humanity, each man sharing more with the other than he first believes. This interconnectedness makes Danny and Mike’s journey together dangerously necessary - in helping the other, each man helps himself.
PRODUCTION HISTORY
Since its 1998 premiere in Toronto, Cherry Docs, written by Jewish-Canadian playwright David Gow, has been produced in numerous theatres in Canada, Europe, and the U.S. Also performed as a radio play, the script was translated into Polish, Hebrew, and German. Academy Award-nominee David Strathairn starred in the Philadelphia production in 2000 at the Wilma Theatre as well as the 2006 Canadian film adaptation of the play, Steel Toes, directed by Gow himself. The play’s cross-cultural resonance has made it one of the most successful Canadian dramas in history.(8)
Notes on the production by Chloe Edmonson
Endnotes
1“About The Anti-Defamation League.” adl.org. Web. 28 Jun 2010.
2 “A ‘Recovering Skinhead’ On Leaving Hatred Behind.” Fresh Air. NPR: 07 APR 2010. Radio.
3 Amsel, Nachum. “Hate and Revenge” The Jewish Encyclopedia of Moral and Ethical Issues. Jason Aronson, 1996. 2.Print.
4 Graubart, Jean. “A Jewish Perspective on Fogiveness” The Power of Forgiveness. Web.
1 Sept 2010.
5 Dennis, Geoffrey. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism. Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn Worldwide, 2007. 188. Print.
6 Leet, Leonora. The Universal Kabbalah. Healing Arts Press, 2004. 126. Print.
7 Gow, David. Cherry Docs. Scirocco Drama, 1998. VII.1. Print.
8“David Gow.” Doolee.com: The Playwright’s Database. Web. <http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsG/gow-david.html>.