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Mourning Dove an emotional tale ripped from headlines

If there could be anything worse for a parent than the death of their child, it might be seeing that child in constant suffering, day after day.
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A wheelchair is used for dramatic effect in Sudbury Theatre Centre's production of "Mourning Dove." Photo by Arron Pickard.
If there could be anything worse for a parent than the death of their child, it might be seeing that child in constant suffering, day after day.

“Mourning Dove,” the January production at the Sudbury Theatre Centre, is inspired by the notorious case of Robert Latimer of Saskatchewan, who took the life of his daughter Tracy in October of 1993.

Tracy was afflicted with cerebral palsy from birth, unable to speak, in constant pain, and prone to frightening seizures. The murder trial polarized the country, with some praising Latimer for his act, and others insisting that he had no right to do it since he couldn’t know what Tracy herself wanted — she could not tell him.

Playwright Emil Sher has fictionalized the story considerably, and the characters of “Mourning Dove” are not the Latimers. But the essence of the conflict is the same, and the immediacy of live theatre is a powerful means to spark conversation about “mercy-killing.”

Doug and Sandra Ramsay are played by Doug MacLeod and Deb Drakeford (of Espanola). Jeff Dingle plays family friend Keith Martel, who is mentally challenged. The part of the daughter, Tina Ramsay, is performed by Mariel Marshall, but entirely offstage — the audience only sees an empty wheelchair and hears Marshall’s vocalizations of Tina’s difficult breathing and occasional outbursts.

That’s a necessary staging decision, I think, because a performer acting out such an ordeal onstage would draw the audience’s attention away from everything else. But it also creates a disconnect because, without a real human being visible, it’s difficult to empathize with her as strongly as we otherwise would. “Mourning Dove” began as a radio play, which would have eliminated such a dilemma.

In spite of the difficult subject matter, there’s a lot of humour in “Mourning Dove” mainly supplied by Keith, a young man with the mental age of a pre-teen. Though Keith is not as far along the spectrum of disability as Tina, he can voice the point of view of people with special challenges.

Playwright Sher also makes effective use of the Noah’s Ark story to examine the question of punishment and salvation.

The emotional final quarter-hour of the show is when it really works. Even then, Doug, who does the actual killing and faces widespread condemnation and a jail sentence, shows very little of his emotional turmoil.

Perhaps that was a directorial decision: Doug Ramsay as a stoic man whose actions are reasoned and, to him at least, justifiable. But surely any man undertaking such an act would rage against the unfairness of it, as Noah must have raged.

Still, “Mourning Dove” offers a powerful story that’s just as important today as it ever was.

“Mourning Dove” runs at the Sudbury Theatre Centre through Feb. 11. The box office number is 705-674-8381, ext. 21 or go online to www.sudburytheatre.ca.

Scott Overton is the author of the thriller "Dead Air." He writes theatre reviews for NorthernLife.ca.

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