Photo Flash: Touchstone Theatre Presents KILL ME NOW

Five years since its Canadian premiere at Edmonton's Workshop West Theatre, with subsequent celebrated productions in New York, London, Winnipeg, and Ottawa, Touchstone Theatre brings Brad Fraser's frank, fearless, and ferociously funny play to Vancouver audiences.

Jake (Bob Frazer) is a single dad and cares for his teen son Joey (Adam Grant Warren) who has a severe disability. Handling Joey's puberty is hard enough, but when Jake develops a serious medical condition he becomes the one to rely on the people around him, including his sister Twyla (Luisa Jojic), his secret lover Robyn (Corina Akeson), and Joey's buddy Rowdy (Braiden Houle). As Jake's condition worsens, an ethical dilemma troubles the household as everyone is forced to consider the possibility of saying goodbye.

Playwright Brad Fraser says, "Being queer and growing up in poverty led me to see the world from a much different perspective than many, and my desire to see that world reflected in the theatre led to the democracy of my characters - a repertoire that grows with each play I write, each attempt to stretch my imagination, to understand and portray things that are outside of my immediate realm of everyday experience. This is my obligation as an artist, to explore that which is not me. To find the concerns we all share in the traits that make us different. This is not a play about disability. It is a play about courage and love."

Touchstone Theatre Artistic Director and Kill Me Now Director, Roy Surette, adds, "I believe this is Brad Fraser's best play yet and I am excited to direct this tough yet loving, harrowing yet surprisingly funny play. He has a remarkable talent for exploring complex issues and emotional powder kegs with compassion rather than sentimentality. Touchstone's history with Brad goes back to The Wolf Boy in 1982 and we are happy to continue this relationship and present the BC premiere of Kill Me Now."

Previous Touchstone productions of Brad Fraser's work includes The Wolf Boy (1982), Unidentified Human Remains & the True Nature of Love (1991), and True Love Lies (2011).

Touchstone has been a mainstay of theatrical innovation and excellence on the West Coast for over 42 years. The company's all-Canadian mandate has helped to launch and develop some of the country's most important theatre artists, and its substantial body of work has garnered over 75 local and national awards. The company explores the contemporary Canadian play through content and form, and stimulates public interest in Canadian cultural perspectives. www.touchstonetheatre.com

Photo Credit: Emily Cooper

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