RELATIVE GOOD- Notes from playwright and director David Gow
This is the third stage production of "Relative Good", and the first production of the material that I have the privilege of directing. I have been heartened by the response of audiences who have gone along for the ride and the story. In Ottawa, at least one audience member stormed out, in New York a man collapsed outside the theatre as the plight of the characters in the play had upset him. On the whole, people seem to enjoy it as a drama; what I have been mystified by is the press, the critics. We've certainly had some rave comments and reviews, but there are also those who get bogged down wondering, can we have art about the post 9/11 era so soon into the post 9/11 era? Or to my mind, worse yet, is it art if we've heard a similar story in the press? Three successive critics asked, Isn't this the story Mr. X Mr. Y or Mr Z? I call this the "evidence of an invisible dog scenario". When my brothers and I were young- at a fair, we bought a gag dog leash with a harness on the end of it, we would walk the pretend dog up and down the street. Some people thought this was entertaining, some did not pay much attention, but for the odd person it was an enormous provocation. I remember one kid screaming "everyone knows you don't have an invisible dog!". We would point to the "evidence" and continue walking, or halt and pat the dog. We actually had to stop as we were so upsetting that one kid. Similarly- or inversely, a couple of critics have seemed to me to have opined 'how can you make a story of this, we all know it happened to someone'. Almost as though the journalist were saying, 'this is true and hence it is my territory". I regard this play as a story, and as speculative fiction, because no one can know- apart from those who have been there- what discussions might have happened in a given situation, with someone who has been subjected to rendition... perhaps we have all imagined it though. All of this makes me wonder if we are living in a time where our political realities are so bizzare, we are not sure if we can take the "truth", of what is actually happening, finding its way into story. It might ruin an evening out, or worse it might somehow change the way in which we are perceiving what is happening around us- even if that is not the stated goal. As the writer/director of this piece, I ask you to watch it not as a cure for a social evil but as a piece of speculative fiction, which I must admit has a strong bias or point of view built in. If you find yourself disagreeing with the story, take solace in the fact that, things similar to what you will see, have actually happened, and please understand I still own an invisible dog, which every so often must come out for a walk.
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