Brad Fraser

Brad Fraser (born June 28, 1959 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian playwright, screenwriter and cultural commentator. He is one of the most widely produced Canadian playwrights both in Canada and internationally. Fraser's edgy gay-themed plays typically feature a harsh yet comical view of contemporary life in Canada, including frank depictions of sexuality, drug use and violence. His work consistently inspires controversy, and his outspoken opinions have made him a media personality, especially for his criticism of the gay press and of theater critics. Fraser does not shy from confrontation and his critiques are known for being both unrelenting and personal.

Fraser first came to international prominence as a playwright with "Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love," a fast-paced and gritty, episodically structured play about David, a gay man who is as fearful of success as he is of emotional intimacy. David and his circle of friends, confused by their own desires, take missteps and encounter misunderstanding and confusion as they endeavor to forge fulfilling relationships while living in Edmonton, Alberta. The city is depicted by Fraser as a bleak and alienating place, which has, as its most distinctive landscape feature, a mega-mall populated by unhappy dolphins. Using and subverting elements of various genres, including thriller, situation comedy and grade-B horror film, the piece is written with great cynical humor, but is serious in tone. As the play begins, a serial killer is stalking young women in the city; we soon realize that David's troubled best friend, Bernie, is the murderer, a fact only discovered by the other characters late in the play. Narration is provided by Benita, a prostitute with psychic ability, who has an obsession with urban legends, and whose mental gifts will figure prominently in the resolution of the plot. A hit at the Alberta Theatre Projects' playRites '89, numerous highly acclaimed productions followed including tremendously popular productions in Toronto and Chicago. The play was named one of the 10 Best Plays of 1992 by "TIME".

While the New York production of "Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love" attacted significant attention, Fraser, who is famously contrary and unconventional, has not directed his career toward New York. Indeed, the maverick playwright's next script, "Poor Super Man", had its premiere in Cincinnati, Ohio. Coming three years after the 1991 Robert Mapplethorpe controversy in Cincinnati, "Poor Super Man" inspired international headlines when the board of directors of Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati temporarily cancelled the production because of its anticipated obscenity. After a public outcry, the production was reinstated. "Poor Super Man" opened without incident and played to considerable acclaim. The play employed the innovative device of projecting captions onto the proscenium, commenting on the action and expressing the private thoughts of the characters. It was named one of the 10 Best Plays of 1994 by "TIME".

Fraser's plays frequently refer to earlier plays, as characters and incidents from one play will make an appearance or receive mention in a subsequent work, giving much of his work the feel of a continuing story. The David character of "Unidentified Human Remains," for example, reappears in "Poor Super Man." Matt, the central character of "Poor Super Man," reappears in "Martin Yesterday," and so forth.

Fraser has been especially successful in the U.K., where his work has enjoyed both critical and popular success, beginning with London's Evening Standard Award for "Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love" in 1993. Fraser's work, which critics often find shocking, borrows heavily from popular culture, especially comic books, horror films and primetime television, and is often more highly valued in retrospect than when it first opens. Typical of this would be a reappraisal by Porter Anderson, theater columnist for New York's "Village Voice", who conceded that "Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love" was "under-rated during its 1991 run at the Orpheum," and that the play "had a grunge sensuality that could seduce a young audience to live theatre" and a "slasher plot [that] ripped away at the exhausted cynicism of alienated Canadian youths." In this regard, Fraser's work anticipates a great deal of urban, sexually frank contemporary drama and television, including British In-Yer-Face drama, and such playwrights as Sarah Kane and Mark Ravenhill. In reappraisal, Fraser is regarded as one of Canada's most important living playwrights and as a leading voice in English-speaking theater.

In addition to his theatre work, Fraser has written two films, "Love and Human Remains" and "Leaving Metropolis", both adaptations of his plays. He has also written for the television series "Queer as Folk", was host of his own Toronto-based television talk show, and for a period of time, wrote a biweekly column for the Canadian gay magazine "fab".

Keanu Reeves had his first acting role in the Toronto production of Fraser's play "Wolfboy".

Plays and performances

* "Wolfboy" (1981)
* "Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love" (1989)
** Calgary (1989) world premiere at the Alberta Theatre Projects' playRites '89 festival
** Toronto (1990)
** Chicago, (1991) Wisdom Bridge Theatre, directed by Derek Goldby
** New York (1991) directed by Derek Goldby
** New Theatre, Sydney (1994) directed by Stuart Katzen
** London (2006), Warehouse Theatre (Croydon), directed by Dominic Leclerc
* "The Ugly Man" (1990)
** Darlinghurst Theatre Company, Sydney (1997) directed by Michael Darragh
* "Poor Super Man" (1994)
** Cincinnati, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, (1994)
** Buffalo, Buffalo United Artists,(1994)
** Edinburgh, (1994)
** London, Hampstead Theatre, (1994)
** Washington, DC, Signature Theatre, (1995)
** Toronto, Canadian Stage, (1995)
** Montreal, Theatre de Quat'sous, (1995)
** Sydney Theatre Company (1995) directed by David Berthold.
** New Theatre, Sydney (1999) directed by Stuart Katzen
** São Paulo, Brazil, Augusta Theatre (2001) directed by Sérgio Ferrara (nominated best director to the Shell Prize)
* "Martin Yesterday" (1998)
* "Outrageous", (2000, musical with composer Joel Miller) Canadian Stage Company
* "Snake in Fridge" (2001) Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, directed by Braham Murray
** San Francisco, Actors' Theatre of San Francscio (2001) directed by Christian Phillips
* "Cold Meat Party" (2003) Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, directed by Braham Murray

External links

* [http://www.bradfraser.net/ Brad Fraser]
* [http://www.ramin.com.au/online/newtheatre/ New Theatre] (Sydney)
* [http://www.cincyetc.com/ Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati]