I have to admit I was a bit surprised when University Players announced that the highly controversial Brad Fraser play *Love and Human Remains* was going to be part of the 2017-18 season. It seemed like a bold move, but one I looked forward to.
Billed with warnings about nudity, graphic content, violence, and coarse language, *Love and Human Remains* sounded like Windsor was going to be on the cutting edge of theatre, even though the play was written in 1993. Unfortunately, the show didn’t seem as cutting edge as it was billed, although it was entertaining to watch.
Much of the actual edge from this production was lost somewhere in its creation. The seven actors were on cue and in position, but the promised edginess was nowhere to be found. Fraser’s original script is far edgier—it features graphic sex, nudity, and violence throughout, as well as plenty of tension between the main players, which in this production, only resulted in slight pushing and slapping on stage. The lack of sharpness surprisingly opened the way for the deeper, more emotional side of the play that can easily get lost in the noise of the edge.
Cole Reid was charismatic in the lead role as David, a gay former television star who is a bit of a player. He masterfully made his way around the various parts of the set, leading the cast through a dramatic quest for a few sexual pleasures and quick friendships which were often part of 1990s gay life. Reid made David quite lovable in this production, even though the character had a few diva moments and a massive breakdown.
Alicia Plummer played Candy, David’s roommate and former lover. She brought out the romance and passion in the show, struggling with deciding whether she wanted to be with bland bartender Robert (Sam Biskey) or lesbian gym friend Jerri (Taylor Brimmer). She ended up in bed for two separate love scenes, which were covered up quite well with a blanket, but the emotion and passion were hard to see or feel.
There was also 17-year-old Kane (Coleton Denomme) who followed David around like a puppy. At one point, he was drunkenly led to enigmatic Benita (Rachel Offer), a dominatrix and psychic who not only gave the young man a reading but also performed oral sex on him. This was oddly presented with Denomme turned from the audience as Offer waved her arms back and forth around him. There was also a sort of simulated sex scene, which may have also served as a reading (the intent was unclear), where the entire cast lifted him up as Offer sang the words to a poem. It was the first of a couple of simulated oral sex scenes that involved actors turned away from the audience. In one such scene, Denomme actually pulled his pants down to reveal his bare behind, but stood firm in the middle of the stage—bare behind exposed. That was the extent of the nudity and, for the most part, the overt sexuality.
Jacob Free was deeply dark and reserved as David’s true love interest, Bernie. He was quite creepy throughout the show, almost too much so—nearly giving away his main purpose in the show too early.
The biggest star of the show was the stylish grey set where literally everything was grey—food labels, phones, bed sheets, floors, tables, chairs—it was all grey (think of the white office Ulla paints in *The Producers*).
It may have been a University Players' decision to tone the play down for its student performers, or it may have simply been that Fraser's once cutting-edge story is no longer as provocative. Since the 90s, society has become more accepting of LGBTQ+ individuals, we can stream just about any sex scene imaginable, and we see more violence on the news than on any theatre stage or movie screen. With those elements toned down, we were left with the basic human story of love, which still remains timeless.
While *Love and Human Remains* wasn’t the show I expected, it was enjoyable to watch, thanks to the great cast who gave the subject matter their best.
The show ran Wednesday to Sunday at Hatch Studio Theatre at the University of Windsor, with matinee shows on both Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are available at universityplayers.com.
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