Crippled is a love story from the darkest moment in Paul David Power's life

Queeries is a weekly column by CBC Arts producer Peter Knegt that queries LGBTQ art, culture and/or identity through a personal lens. It's been nominated for a 2022 Digital Publishing Award for best column in Canada.

The genesis of Paul David Power's play Crippled is something no one ever wants to face. Processing the death of his partner, Jonathan, the Newfoundland-based playwright and actor was searching for something to push him through the grieving process.

"My perspective on life all changed, and I was looking for a purpose to go on with life or be excited about something," Power said. 

So he began to write. The result was a play that Power describes as "a love story where one of the people in that story happens to live with a disability." It follows tired, grief-stricken Tony, who has decided there is only one way out of a life he no longer wants to live, when a stranger shows up with other plans for him.

First staged in 2018, Crippled was a finalist for the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for English-language drama. This month, it is being staged for the first time at Toronto's Theatre Passe Muraille, with Power playing the role of Tony. 

"I'm thrilled to be here at Theatre Passe Muraille," Power said. "Back in Newfoundland, it's a very close-knit community, and you know a lot of the audience, so it's nice to bring it to a broader audience.… Every time we perform the show, after it ends, a lot of audience members have come up to me and they want to give me a hug, and they say that they're really touched by the way I've captured that journey of grief and how you feel on that journey — more so than the disability element is that connection of grief. It's a universal theme because we've all had losses in our lives."

Power's involvement in theatre began roughly 30 years ago, when he was pursuing an English degree at Memorial University in St. John's.

"That's where I really got involved in the theatre world and acting," he said. "And I noticed a few years into it that I didn't see myself onstage in the way of representation for persons who identify with a disability. So I decided to write my own show."

That kicked off many years of writing and performing in theatre, with a day job on the side. But it wasn't until his partner died that he decided to pursue the work full-time — with Crippled being one of the primary results. 

"I know the description of Crippled seems so dark," Power said. "The character I play, Tony, is contemplating life — whether he wants to go on with life — and of course, is grieving a partner and also dealing with the ramifications of living every day with a disability. But there's a lot of comedy in it too. The biggest payoff for me is when you hear laughter from the audience because I think I'm funny all the time, but who knows?"

While disability is certainly a part of Crippled, Power hopes audiences recognize it's a multi-level story.

"A lot of times, you see a disability on stage, and that's the focus of it or it's trying to make a statement or say something about disability," he said. "I think my show displays that there are so many facets to people who also have a disability. It's just one factor of their life. But most of all, I think Crippled is a love story and I hope people take that away from it."

The play is the work of Power Productions, a Newfoundland-based company Power started in 2015, which aims to create diverse and accessible theatre projects as well as opportunities for professional development and collaborations focused on the deaf, disability and mad arts community. Before founding the company, Power attended workshops and conferences about disability theatre in Canada.  

"I got to come to Ontario and go out West," he said. "And what I noticed was that we still have a long way to go when it comes to representation and diversity on our stages. There are pockets of networks of people who identify as a disabled artist, and I saw that in Western Canada and in Ontario. But there's very little of that in the Atlantic provinces and especially in Newfoundland. There's very little opportunity for someone who lives with a disability to broaden their skills and get involved in the arts. So I started Power Productions as a catalyst for that."

Power said he considers himself lucky that when he was auditioning for roles in Newfoundland earlier in his career, he would often get the role even if it didn't call for someone with a disability or the show's subject matter wasn't about disability. 

"I just went out for auditions and got roles and was able to learn my craft through those opportunities," he said. "But talking to people across the country who live with a disability, I realized most … don't feel welcome to just go out for regular auditions and get involved in the arts unless it's focused on the disability. And so I wanted to give an opportunity to people in Newfoundland and make them feel welcome."

Power said in the time since he started his company, there has been notable progress for accessibility in theatre, particularly given life-changing events like the COVID pandemic.

"Accessibility is certainly more on people's radar," he said. "A lot of theatre companies are asking, how do we make this more accessible? I think the thing about the pandemic is that we all had to learn how to adapt and how to —  I hate this word now because everybody uses it, but — pivot."

Overused as the word is, as a global society, we've all had to pivot, and find other ways to communicate and engage. 

"Whether it was engaging in the arts or even engaging with our own families," Power said. "And for someone with a disability, especially for me, a physical disability, that's a daily task to have to pivot and try to figure out different ways to do something because all of a sudden there's a barrier. I think people have recognized that there's other ways to do things … and that includes accessibility in theatre."

The pandemic also pushed so many live events to the digital realm, which offered an opportunity for people who usually can't participate.

"Think of people who can't make it to a theatre physically or even mentally — or can't go to an audition," Power said. "I'm not talking about just because there's barriers like stairs or something, but just some people have chronic illness and are just not able to get out there."

As we return to live theatre, Power is concerned it may lead to a renewed division for who can participate. But he's also hopeful that things have genuinely begun to evolve. 

"I've gotten a lot of people reaching out to me locally in my theatre scene, and even nationally, appreciating that lived experience to inform how we do things," he said. "Five years ago, people would think, 'Oh, accessibility, we'll put in a ramp.' The right people weren't at the table to discuss how to make it more accessible or to share that lived experience. And I think there's more of a respect for having the right people at the table in the way of policy-makers and theatre creators. That perspective is really, really valuable in making sure you are informed when it comes to accessibility. And that mean physical accessibility as well as artistic accessibility."

Crippled runs May 12–21 at Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto. Get your tickets on the theatre's website.