Crow's Theatre at the Poor Alex, Toronto, Ontario
1993
Brad Fraser’s Unidentified Human Remains and
the True Nature of Love was first developed with Crow’s Theatre
at the Poor Alex Theatre, Toronto during 1993. The play involved
a dramatic narrative based on glimmerings of human warmth arising
in a range of alienated characters. Director Jim Millan produced
the script as a chamber work, employing a range of visual treatments
and unscripted movements to amplify the text. The stage set for
Unidentified Human Remains was developed as a series of strained
tectonic plates making hollow, uncertain ground. Rifts in these
fragile shells were employed for dramatic staging of exchanges between
characters. The white glazed surfaces of the set were developed
to act as resonant projection vehicles for widely varying scattered
pools of light.
Following the first production, a new design was developed
for an extended engagement at the Theatre Passe Muraille, Toronto.
In subsequent years a new design was refined for the National Arts
Centre, Ottawa, followed by another set undertaken as a touring
vehicle for a range of North American venues.
