Du 26 février au 30 mars 2008

Relative Good

Texte et mise en scène de David Gow
Avec : Mikel Mroué, Christine Aubin Khalifah, Marcel Jeannin, Stephanie McNamara, Don Anderson

Montreal playwright, David Gow’s, newest play seems to be ripped from the headlines of a recent newspaper with its ironic, blood-chilling investigation of how easy it is to lose one's rights in a post 9/11 world. A Canadian citizen of Middle-East heritage is detained while transferring between flights at JFK airport in New York. The Canadian consular officials cannot (or will not) facilitate his release or even gain due process for their fellow countryman, and the man’s fate is increasingly caught up in a Kafkaesque morass of security law-language and a byzantine Department of External affairs.

The play puts a very real and personal face on the political issue of detention certificates and portrays the fears, agonies and lack of humanity experienced by the family of a man branded by his name and racial profile.

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Mohammed El Rafi (Mikel Mroué), un Canadien d’origine syrienne, n’a rien d’un militant politique.
Père de deux enfants, cet ingénieur consciencieux oeuvre dans le secteur de la technologie de l’hydrogène ; il se trouve tout simplement au mauvais endroit, au mauvais moment. Catalogué en raison de son appartenance culturelle et religieuse, il est détenu lors d’une escale à l’aéroport JFK de New York. Il subit alors un effroyable interrogatoire qui finit par provoquer son extradition en Syrie. Les autorités consulaires canadiennes ne peuvent (ou ne veulent) pas le faire libérer, ni même lui obtenir un traitement équitable. Graduellement, El Rafi s’enfonce dans un imbroglio kafkaïen où le jargon de la Sûreté côtoie les procédures tortueuses du ministère des Affaires extérieures. Se tisse alors une trame bureaucratique complexe où s’entrelacent inextricablement humour et ironie…

Troublante d’actualité, la toute nouvelle pièce du dramaturge montréalais David Gow jette un regard réaliste et personnel sur les enjeux politiques entourant la sécurité. Elle dépeint la peur, l’angoisse et la déshumanisation infligées aux proches d’un homme jugé sur son nom et ses origines. RELATIVE GOOD explore les diverses questions qui assaillent les citoyens de part et d’autre de la frontière : comment établir un équilibre entre la sécurité nationale et les droits individuels ? Quel est le coût humain du profilage ethnique ? Le « bien relatif » de la société autorise-t-il l’État à empiéter sur les droits humains fondamentaux ?

Une création du Théâtre Centaur

Théâtre Centaur
453, St-François-Xavier
Box office : 514-288-3161

review by Geneviève Germain

Largely inspired by Maher Arar’s controversial arrestation by US customs in 2002, playwright and director David Gow takes us with Relative Good into the depths of international politics. After  9/11, Canadian and US borders have been closely watched as terrorism fear still reigned. Using the US policy of « extraordinary rendition », Arar was arrested and detained at JFK airport then deported to Syria, the country where he was born, US customs failing to recognize his Canadian citizenship. Arar commission came to conclusion that he was tortured in Syria before being released with no charges against him in late 2003, and concluded with a 10.5 million Canadian dollars settlement for Arar.

In David Gow’s version, Arar becomes Mohammed El Rafi and holds almost the same identical story, difference being that we get to see what happens between him and authorities as he is detained without charges. We also witness an International lawyer’s fight against the great lack of political implication from Canadian Governement in this matter. Clearly highlighting the numerous dead-ends as the protagonist fails to find any form of justice, we feel that the author has taken Arar’s or El Rafi’s side in this matter. From his being secretly detained to the on-going pressure that US Officer Jenkins is putting on El Rafi to sign different documents, we are faced with the situation’s absurdity and inhumanity.

Enhancing this ridiculous situation are the different characters impersonating Canadian Governement officials. As one is more concerned with his oncoming retirement and another is more concerned with its own image at a party, they all come as a little bit of a farce. All played by Don Anderson, even a woman’s part, he manages to bring these characters to a caricature level. Facing them as a concerned lawyer, Claire Hopkins (Stephanie McNamara) brings the play back to harsh reality and prevents it from falling into an exaggerated humoristic presentation.

Although it is interesting to see what happens alongside of what turmoil El Rafi is going through, it is truly his interaction with US officers that captivates our attention. Mikel Mroué as El Rafi and Marcel Jeannin as Jenkins, the US officer that interrogates El Rafi, both deliver great performances. Their interactions are tense, rough and relentless, showing both complicity although aware that the other one is the enemy. The dynamics of their dialogues bring sparks to the stage and show just how much pressure El Rafi is put under.

David Gow’s play manages to raise questions about US Government ongoing concern of National security while denying individual rights. It does also show that international relations between Canada and US are intricate and sensitive, making the Canadian Governnment look weak as they prefer not to see what is going on. Although somewhat simplifying both positions, Relative Good brings out meaningful questions of actuality in a very entertaining way.

15-03-2008