Brad Fraser is no stranger to controversy. The award-winning Canadian playwright has earned a reputation for being shocking and dark with works such as Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, Poor Super Man, and Snake in the Fridge. Fraser’s latest play, Cold Meat Party, which inaugurated the Factory Theatre’s 35th Season this past week, is a bit of a departure from his earlier works: there is no swearing, no nudity, and no graphic sex.
In short, Cold Meat Party is a play about “grownups.”
Fraser reunites an unlikely bunch of college mates-a feminist filmmaker, a gay one-hit-wonder popstar, and a homophobic politician-at a Manchester bed and breakfast for the funeral of an old mutual friend. The occasion provides these characters with a chance to reminisce about their youthful pasts, but also forces them to confront their uncertain future as each of them is thrust into middle age.
In spite of the hopeful mix of offbeat characters (which reads like a bad dirty joke: a feminist, a gay musician, and a homophobic MP walk into a bar… ) Cold Meat Party falls a little short. With so many personal dramas unfolding in this single play, no meaningful relation or understanding is given time to develop for any one character. And as Fraser set out to write a play about 40-somethings looking back on what they’ve done with their lives from the perspective of middle age, simply watching the characters’ struggles with sex, money, and aging play out on stage is not enough to prompt just any audience member to identify.
There is wit in his writing-most noteworthy are a few clever and sharp remarks made on the nature of critics and reviewers-and the dialogue does not fail to evoke laughter. It may just be that given the issues explored in Cold Meat Party, this 40-something play is better suited for a 40-something audience.
