Created by Martin Dockery
Produced by Martin Dockery | Brooklyn, NY
Review by Brian Carroll
60 mins / PG
Martin Dockery takes on Raymond Chandler.
For many of Dockery’s solo shows, he is the central character. He tells a story from his personal perspective. The stories are (mostly) true, and over the years he has built a relationship of trust with his fan base.
But Dockery has adapted other writers’ styles for some of his plays. For example, in the past, audiences have seen him write in the style of Eugene Ionesco.
This time 1 Small Lie is in the style of Raymond Chandler. (As an example, think Double Indemnity). In this case, Dockery has set the story in upstate New York during the pandemic.
Hemingway said, “Write what you know.” There is a lot in the play from Dockery’s first hand experience — for example, he hid from the pandemic with his wife and daughter in his godmother’s seaside house in remote Montauk, New York. Many of Dockery’s mannerisms remain: the endearing appeal to the audience, the refusal to swear, small “l” liberal affectations.
Banner image for 1 Small Lie: Martin Dockery. Photo provided.
BUT (and it’s a big but). The main character is NOT Martin Dockery. He’s not the endearing person that Dockery’s fan base has come to know and trust.
Speaking of fan base, there is a resemblance to the situation of the fan base of a certain celebrity that people thought they knew from television, social media and rallies. Like this celebrity, the main character lies. For Dockery’s fan base, this may be quite jarring and difficult to accept.
The central character starts by telling one small lie. What could possibly go wrong? As in Chandler’s Double Indemnity, plenty! Soon, a second lie follows the first. Then a third. Unexpected consequences follow in rapid succession. All the while, the loving husband, father and performer you thought you knew transforms…
This is a contemporary adaptation of Chandler’s style to the 2020s. The script contains a brilliant sequence of plot twists and turns worthy of Chandler himself. To use a social media phrase, “I see what you did here”, Martin Dockery.
And it is good.
1 Small Lie: Martin Dockery is playing at ODD Box from June 12–21. Tickets are $14 plus service fees at the Fringe box office (3rd floor, Arts Court, 2 Daly Avenue), and at the three satellite box offices (LabO in the Ottawa Art Gallery, Fringe Courtyard, 67 Nicholas St and La Nouvelle Scène). Five and ten Show Passes are also available. Visit the Ottawa Fringe Festival’s website for the show’s schedule and check out their online schedule here.
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