Shelley's Shadow

Shelley’s Shadow

By Brad Fraser

OUT&About Theatre Company is proud to launch with a staged reading of the Canadian premier of Brad Fraser’s play Shelley’s Shadow.

Shelley's Shadow was commissioned by Bridge Street Theatre in the town of Catskill New York State, and opened on September 8, 2022. It is a "slightly fictionalized story of David, an out of work writer nearing 60, who finds himself becoming the reluctant caretaker for his upstairs neighbors – Shelley, a gregarious lesbian in her 80s with encroaching Alzheimer’s-related dementia, and her long-time canine companion, Shadow. The three attempt to navigate the ups and downs of Shelley’s disease with wildly varying results – some funny, some infuriating, some absolutely heartbreaking.

Brad’s Recent Work in Stratford

In 2023, his adapted version of Shakespeare's Richard II (dir. Jillian Keiley) opened at the Stratford Festival in the new Tom Patterson Theatre. "Inspired by the glamour, grit and glitter of New York in the late '70s and early '80s--a period when culture clash gave way to the dizzying freedom of Studio 54--Fraser's adaptation uses Shakespeare's text, while drawing on modern history" 

Brad Fraser has twice received the Chalmers Award (Unidentified... and Poor Super Man) and was nominated for the Governor General’s Award (Poor Super Man, 1996). He is a five-time winner of the Alberta Culture Playwriting Competition and five-time winner of the Alberta Writers' Guild Drama Award. He also received the London Evening Standard Award for best new play and the Los Angeles Critics' Award (both for Unindentified....d 

Tickets to OUT&About's production go on sale January 1, 2026.