Book Description
Doc Chalmers, now aging and in poor health after a serious heart attack, is having a hospital named for him to honour his lifetime of service. But dedication to career and community has come at a price. His wife Bob has ended her own life, as has his mother, and he has been distanced from his children. The play explores these family relationships through a variety of innovative techniques. The central character, Doc’s daughter Catherine, appears both as her mid-30's self on a visit home to see her father after his heart attack, and as her childhood self Katie. And Pollock has crafted a complex narrative structure that moves back and forth in time as it explores the ways in which different mental states may produce different versions of the same event. Doc was first produced in 1984 at Theatre Calgary, and has since been produced widely elsewhere; the play received the Governor General’s Award for Drama. This Broadview edition includes a new introduction by the playwright.
About the Author
Sharon Pollock has been one of Canada’s leading dramatists for over 20 years. She has received many honours including the Canada-Australia Literary Award, the Nellie Award for Drama, the Chalmers Award, and two Governor General’s Awards.
Doc FROM THE PUBLISHER
When Catherine returns home on the eve of ceremonies honouring her physician father, she unleashes a kaleidoscope of memories as father and daughter attempt to lay old ghosts to rest. While public service has been the keynote of Doc's life it has covered the private anguish of a family in crisis. Interacting with figures from the past (including wife and mother Bob, best friend Oscar, and Catherine herself as the young child Katie), the characters retrace and relive past triumphs and tragedies, culminating in Bob's death. Humour leavens this drama of a father and daughter's struggle to love, to forgive, and to understand in order to go on.ﾽDoc was first produced in 1984 at Theatre Calgary and has since been produced widely elsewhere. The play received the Governor Generalﾽs Award for Drama in 1986.
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