This time last year, Edmonton’s Chris Craddock was living the dream. His gay rap opera, BASH’d, opened off-Broadway, and the successful run eventually earned Craddock and co-writer/performer Nathan Cuckow a GLAAD Award.
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“We did our little gay rap musical for the toughest critics on earth, and they loved it,” says Craddock. “It was a real confidence-booster, proof that Canadians can do it as well as anyone.”
A BASH’d remount is coming to Passe Muraille next season. But this Fringe, Craddock’s bringing a semi-autobiographical work called Moving Along.
“I call it autobiographical, but take that with a grain of salt,” says Craddock. “I’ve traded out characters and situations, amalgamated people into one person. And of course the entire show is seen through the grossly one-sided lens of my point of view.”
Craddock presented an earlier version years ago – but he’s revised it.
“I first wrote the show in a place of real grief, after the death of my younger brother,” he says. “People are surprised to hear that grief can inspire comedy, but those people don’t know comedy. When I first wrote it, I wasn’t ready to speak directly of my brother. I can face things more unflinchingly now. When I’m old, I hope to do an ‘old’ version of the show, which will feature my grandchildren or something.”
One of the standout features of the production is an electrochair. Ouch.
“It’s an armchair with household dimmers built into the arms,” says Craddock. “I can control lights that face me at different angles, creating different looks and effects.”
That cuts costs for a show that demands 400 lighting cues.
“Plus, it allows me to present the show in found spaces. I first did it in the basement of an old house.”
July 2 to 12 at Tarragon Mainspace.
