The Orchid and the Crow

What do you do when you go through the harrowing realisation that you have testicular cancer? You survive and then tell the whole world about it in the form of a cabaret/musical theatre performance. Daniel Tobias was only 29 when he had to come to terms with his own mortality. As he came to the end of his chemotherapy, a nurse handed him a book about Lance Armstrong’s journey through the same illness. He was able to find strength through his reading and came out the other side a survivor.

The show begins with a rock ballad about Tobias’ parents and how they met. A talented singer and musician, he manages to find humour through his music and so begins a night of storytelling. He covers many topics starting with the fact he is an atheist Jew. He talks and sings about the absurdity of circumcision and his father’s love of Christmas. He shares tender moments about family, his lack of religion and people’s desire to believe in the unbelievable. Trying to find a purpose through his prose other than a rhetoric about his journey was at times ambiguous, but entertaining all the same.

A touching yet funny cartoon about the orchid and the crow was a highlight. Clearly losing a testicle was life changing, but Tobias finds humour at every turn to shed light on an otherwise dark topic in what could only be described as a tragi-comedy.

Kerry Cooper