Time: 8 p.m.

Tickets: $11 regular/$7 students and seniors. Box Office: 329-2616

 Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love by Brad Fraser
March 4- 6, 2010, 8:00 pm – David Spinks Theatre; 2:00pm matinee March 6
Tickets:
WARNING: Mature Content
Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love by Brad Fraser was first produced for the playRites Festival at Alberta Theatre Projects in 1989. It has gone on to become a Canadian classic, with many productions across Canada, as well as productions in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.  It was also adapted to a film version, called Love and Human Remains, directed by Denys Arcand. Fraser has gone on to great success - and notoriety - as the author of plays such as Poor Superman and Outrageous!, and as a writer for the TV series Queer as Folk.
The play is set in Edmonton and follows a group of young adults as they try to find love and sex in an increasingly scary urban environment -  a serial killer is stalking the city, and the threat of death is always present.  The main character, David, is a gay actor who has come back to Edmonton after starring in a TV show in Toronto. Now he's working as a waiter, cruising for anonymous sex, and starting a tentative relationship with a bus boy at his restaurant. David's roommate, Candy, is also dissatisfied with her job as a book reviewer, and looks for happiness through relationships with both men and women. In addition to their friends and love interests, the characters include Benita, a psychic prostitute who specializes in sadomasochism, and in "reading" David's friends.
"Although I was actually living in Edmonton in 1989, I didn't see the play until the Toronto production in 1991," recalls director Shelley Scott, chair of the Department of Theatre and Dramatic Arts. "That production had a big impact on me - particularly because Brent Carver and Henry Czerny were in it! But also because it felt so current and daring." Scott has chosen to set the play a couple of years later, in 1991, mainly to take advantage of the music of Nirvana. "The album Nevermind came out in 1991," Scott explains," and to me, that album was the defining element of the whole early 90s experience, and I really wanted to use it to capture that feeling."
While reviews of the play have usually focused on the graphic sexuality and language, and many will find it shocking,  Scott says she is attracted by the warm heart at the centre of the play. "These characters are looking for connection," she explains, "they are trying to construct a sense of 'family' and belonging that makes sense for them. Some critics have  read the threat of the serial killer as a sort of metaphor for the threat of AIDS, and there is definitely a horrifying element always present and creeping up on these characters. In a way, that makes them turn to each other - although that might not always be safe, either."
Scott says that the choice to do the play as part of the TheatreXtra season came about somewhat by accident, but feels it is a good fit. "TheatreXtra is predominantly student-driven," she acknowledges, "although faculty members take advantage of it once in awhile in order to direct a play that has a smaller cast or is in some way less suited to the mainstage season." Scott directed one previous show for TheatreXtra, This is for You, Anna in 2004. "I enjoy the challenge of the drastically reduced budget and resources," she says. "It throws the focus onto the ingenuity of the student designers, and provides a different kind of experience and opportunity for the actors... and for me, as a director!"
Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love runs March 4-6 at 8:00 pm in the David Spinks Theatre, with a 2:00 pm matinee of Saturday March 6. Audiences are strongly cautioned about the coarse language and mature content.
For further information, please contact Shelley Scott at 329-2671 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it