Disability, teen angst take centre stage in Royal MTC play 'Kill Me Now'

A play opening this week at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre aims to offer insight into a reality rarely depicted on stage living with a disability.

Kill Me Now, which opens Thursday at the RMTC's Tom Hendry Warehouse, is both a coming-of-age story and a story about how far family will go for each other, says lead actor Myles Taylor.

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The play, by Canadian playwright Brad Fraser, has been called "brutal and honest," but also generated some controversy for its depiction of physical disability.

In Kill Me Now, Taylor plays 17-year-old Joey, who lives withhis widower father and has a physical disability.

"I want [audiences] to walk away, first thing, having enjoyed themselves and I guess simultaneously I want them to acknowledge disability exists," he said.

Playing Joey is Taylor's first professional stage gig; he is currently studying theatre and film at the University of Winnipeg.

"He's sort of a strong, warm-hearted guy, going through the rigours of being 17 and having a disability.All the consequences and joys, and non-joys, that all that brings," he said.

Taylor, who has cerebral palsy, used his own experiences growing up with a disability to inform his performance.

The character he plays has a different set of motor skills than he does, and Taylor says hehad to learn to adapt to the part.

"I'm physically more capable than Joey is so part of this for me was figuring out what sorts of things can my body to do best embody a much more limited set of movements and gestures," he said.

Living with adisability

Taylor is quick to remind that a large proportion of the world lives with a disability, whether seen or unseen.

"To say that we're not out there is silly," he said.

According to Statistics Canada data from 2012, 13.7 percent of Canadian adults, or 3.8 million people, have a disability.

"To not acknowledge those facts on stage and on screen, and in audio as well, is a disservice to not just the disabled community but to humanity," Taylor said.

The young actor wants to see both more disabled parts for people like himself and more disabled actors playing non-disabled roles.

"I want [audiences] to hopefully realize that love and friendship and compassion and acceptance and acknowledgement is something that is so key."

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