Wellington Oracle

Oracle theatre review by Wayne Current

On January 14th I saw my first-ever gay rap opera, Bash’d, at the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre. To be honest, I wasn’t at all sure what to expect from this show. Would this production be a campy comedy? A politically-driven hip hop performance? A love story?

Impressively, the performance is a compelling blend of all three.

Written and performed by Chris Craddock and Nathan Cukow, this is the story of two men Jack (Craddock) and Dylan (Cukow) who meet and fall and love as teenagers. The first part of the performance is about being a gay man in a small town, the pain of coming out to your family, and the giddy joy of finally finding real community after moving to the big city.

After the passage of the Civil Marriage Act (2005), Jack and Dylan decide to get married. Of course, despite the new law, currents of homophobic violence still run deep in Canadian society. This is made evident in an emotionally powerful scene where Jack is brutally assaulted. As the second half of the performance unfolds, we see the impact of this violent act on the couple; the fear, the anger, and then, unexpectedly, something more – a desire for revenge.

Craddock and Cukow put in an intense and well-honed performance throughout the 65 minute piece. Their skill is evident as they transition through a series of characters seamlessly, evoking a marvelous interplay of emotional responses. Overall, I felt the narrative and plot development was successful; however, after the final act of violence (this one perpetrated by Jack and Dylan) the opera slips back a little too quickly back into comedy. As the ultimate theme of the piece is acceptance and non-violence, I would have preferred to see the consequences of Jack and Dylan’s violent act explored in a bit more depth.

Aaron Marcri’s musical direction is topnotch. He uses diverse samples (Eurythmics, Eminem, Mozart) and a sweet collection of beats drive the plot and underscore the rhymes. Audiences will enjoy picking out and identifying the samples as they hear them turned to a much more playful and subversive use than the original artists might have intended.

This show is accessible and it has a great message. So I was a bit surprised that this show was not included in the the Great Canadian Theatre Company’s regular season. I asked a representative of the GCTC why this was the case, and was told it was because of the large amount of profanity in the piece combined with the fact that “rap isn’t for everyone”. I was assured that this choice had nothing to do with thematic content of the performance.

Lise Ann Johnson (the artistic director of GCTC) says in her message:

“At first glance, the show seemed to be a show built for a younger crowd– audience goers who would recognize the people and the places and the music of the play. But as the story unfolded, I realized that the play tackles the most important civil rights issue of the 21st century–gay marriage– and in this way is a play for all of us to see and discuss.”

As part of an exciting new interactive element of GCTC performances a pink ballot was passed out asking “what is the next step in gay rights activism?” I would argue that the next step for theatre practitioners, as advocates for gay rights, is including plays like this in their regular season so that regular audiences and subscribers can be exposed to its positive message.

Bash’d plays the main stage of the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre through January 31. For showtimes and tickets check the GCTC ticket office.

photo by Alan Dean