About the Play:

Kill Me Now is a full-length black comedy by Brad Fraser. Widower Jake Sturdy cares for his severely disabled teenage son Joey until unexpected news leads to an astonishing role reversal. Devastatingly funny and defiantly unsentimental, Kill Me Now finds hard truths and irreverent laughter in every limb, joint and thought in the hopelessly fragile human body.

Kill Me Now is the story of Jake Sturdy, a once-promising writer who takes care of his severely disabled son, Joey. When Joey enters puberty, Jake finds himself in a morally ambiguous position. Joey is severely disabled, but he still has the same sexual desires as any seventeen-year-old boy, only he can't do anything to relieve the tension. Jake is a widower whose life is devoted to his son, but when he suddenly develops a serious medical condition, he becomes the one to rely on the people around him, including his sister Twyla, his friend Robyn, and Joey's best friend Rowdy. As Jake's condition worsens, an ethical dilemma troubles the household as everyone is forced to consider the possibility of saying goodbye.

Kill Me Now premiered in 2013 at Playwright's Theatre in Edmonton. The play was nominated for Outstanding New Play at the 2014 Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards and was a finalist for the 2016 Governor General's Literary Award for Drama. It had subsequent celebrated productions in Winnipeg, and Ottawa, and Vancouver. Its US premiere was in 2014 at the Cross Street Theater Center in Hudson New York. Its UK premier was in 2015 at the Park Theatre in Finsbury Park, North London.

Cast: 2 women, 3 men

What people say:

"Yes, it's funny and brutal and honest. But it is also moving, deeply emotional, and ultimately harrowing. At the final scene there were quite a few in the audience trying to control their sobs." — Stage Review (London, UK)

"The characters may be specific but Fraser deals in universal emotions, using them skilfully to bind us to his story." — The Edmonton Sun

"...an important play that boldly goes where few plays have gone before it. It's essential focus on communication and the needs of humanity makes for difficult, confronting theatre." — BritishTheatre.com

"...powerful drama about a father and son dealing with a health crisis. It was brave and painful theater, at times so emotionally intimate that watching felt voyeuristic, but you couldn't look away." — Times Union

About the Playwright:

Brad Fraser is a Canadian playwright, screenwriter and cultural commentator. He is one of the most widely produced Canadian playwrights both in Canada and internationally. He began writing plays while in high school, and is the nominee and recipient of many awards for acting, directing and writing. He has also written extensively for radio, television, film and the print media.