Brad Fraser (born June 28, 1959) is a Canadian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

. He is one of the most widely produced Canadian playwrights both in Canada and internationally. His plays typically feature a harsh yet comical view of contemporary life in Canada, including frank depictions of sexuality, drug use and violence.Gaetan Charlebois and Anne Nothof
"Fraser, Brad"
''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia'', June 2, 2019.

Career

Fraser was born in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. His most noted early play was ''Wolf Boy'';Ray Conlogue, "Wolfboy proves a real howler". ''

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'', April 5, 1984. first staged in Edmonton in 1981, its 1984 production in Toronto by Theatre Passe Muraille was later noted as one of the first significant acting roles for Keanu Reeves. Fraser first came to national and international prominence as a playwright with '' Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love'', an episodically structured play about a group of thirtysomethings trying to find their way through life in Edmonton, while the city is haunted by a

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

. Written while Fraser was playwright in residence with

Alberta Theatre Projects Alberta Theatre Projects ("ATP") is a professional, not-for-profit, Canadian theatre company, founded in 1972 by Lucille Wagner and Douglas Riske, currently based out of the Martha Cohen Theatre in Arts Commons, in Calgary, Alberta Alber ...

,Martin Morrow, "Playwright braced for controversy". ''

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'', January 11, 1989. it was a hit at ATP's '89, and became his national and international breakthrough. Coming three years after the 1991

Robert Mapplethorpe Robert Michael Mapplethorpe ( ; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female Nude (art), n ...

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. Fraser also has written two films, '' Love and Human Remains'' and '' Leaving Metropolis'', which were both adaptations of his plays; Denys Arcand directed ''Love and Human Remains'', while ''Leaving Metropolis'' was Fraser's debut as a film director.Valerie Fortney, "Playwright undergoes rogue reversal: Brad Fraser's Bad Boy vitriol makes way for seasoned artistry". ''

'', October 3, 2002. He has also written for the television series '' Queer as Folk''; was host of his own television talk show, '' Jawbreaker'', for PrideVision; and for a period of time wrote a biweekly column for the Canadian gay magazine ''

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''. His most recent play, ''Kill Me Now'', premiered in 2014. As of 2021, two film adaptations of ''Kill Me Now'' were in development in Canada and South Korea. Richard Burnett
"The rage of Brad Fraser"
'' Fugues'', May 4, 2021. A memoir by Brad Fraser, ''All the Rage,'' was published by Doubleday Canada in May 2021.

Awards

Fraser won the Alberta Culture award for best full-length play in 1989, for ''Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love''. He is a two-time winner of the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award, in 1991 for ''Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love'' and in 1996 for ''Poor Super Man''. He won the Genie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 15th Genie Awards for ''Love and Human Remains''. Fraser won

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

's ''Evening Standard Award'' for ''Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love'' in 1993. He is a two-time nominee for the

Governor General's Award for English-language drama The Governor General's Award for English-language drama honours excellence in Canadian English-language playwriting. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry or drama was divided. Because the awa ...

, receiving nods at the

1995 Governor General's Awards The 1995 Governor General's Literary Awards were presented by Roméo LeBlanc, Governor General of Canada on November 14 at the Winter Garden Theatre in Toronto."Writer's Roaring success: Greg Hollingshead wins Governor-General's Award for fiction". ...

for ''Poor Super Man'' and at the 2016 Governor General's Awards for ''Kill Me Now''.

Personal life

Fraser is openly gay, and his plays often focus on

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

storylines. In 2003 he became the executive story editor on Showtime's '' Queer As Folk''.

Plays

* ''Wolfboy'' - 1981 * ''Mutants'' - 1981 * ''Rude Noises (for a Blank Generation)'' - 1982 * ''Chainsaw Love'' - 1985 * ''Young Art'' - 1987 * ''Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love'' - 1989 * ''Return of the Bride'' - 1989 * ''The Ugly Man'' - 1990 * ''Prom Night of the Living Dead'' - 1991, with Darrin Hagen * ''Poor Super Man'' - 1994 * ''Martin Yesterday'' - 1997 * '' Outrageous'' - 2000, musical with composer Joey Miller * ''Snake in Fridge'' - 2000 * ''Cold Meat Party'' - 2003 * ''True Love Lies'' - 2009Liz Nicholls, "Brad Fraser's funniest play comes home; Acclaimed playwright realizes a dream at Citadel". ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunn ...

'', April 3, 2011. * ''5 @ 50'' - 2011 * ''Kill Me Now'' - 2014

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Brad 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian male screenwriters Canadian columnists Canadian gay writers 1959 births Living people Canadian LGBTQ film directors Gay screenwriters Canadian LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights Best Screenplay Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Canadian television talk show hosts Gay dramatists and playwrights Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian male television writers Canadian television writers Canadian LGBTQ screenwriters Film directors from Edmonton Writers from Edmonton 21st-century Canadian memoirists Gay memoirists 20th-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian screenwriters 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Dora Mavor Moore Award winners Screenwriters from Alberta