Actor and writer Mat Fraser will launch his six-part short film collection CripTales on BBC America this October.
CripTales will consist of 15 minute monologues from writers focused around the experiences and historical stories of people with disabilities. Contributors include Fraser, Jackie Hagan, Jack Thorne, Genevieve Barr, Tom Wentworth, and Matilda Ibini. The films will star Robert Softley Gale, Ruth Madeley, Liz Carr, and Carly Houston alongside Hagan and Fraser.
Fraser is best known for his roles on American Horror Story: Freak Show, His Dark Materials, and Loudermilk among many others. He has an extensive background in theater and burlesque performing, and he is an expert in historical freak show performers (which have often inspired his theatrical performances and writing).
CripTales will premiere on October 1 at 10 p.m. ET on BBC America and will also be available on AMC, IFC, Sundance TV, and AMC Plus as part of BBC America’s celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. For more information and to see the other series included in the celebration, head over to BBC America’s dedicated website. Check out the synopses released by BBC America for each film below!
“Audition” By Mat Fraser
Actor: Mat Fraser
Director: Ewan Marshall
Mat sits in the waiting room before an audition, dreading how it will be. He re-lives some of his best and worst moments in auditions, and takes us back to his childhood where he unlocks the reasons for his fears, before finding the way to triumph … Or does he?
“Thunderbox” By Genevieve Barr
Actor: Ruth Madeley
Director: Amit Sharma
It is 1968, and Sue is in the toilet at a Pop Festival. Abortion has recently been legalized; it’s a moment of liberation. But for Sue, a wheelchair user, it throws up difficult questions of bodies and belief. A whirlwind romance has left her pregnant. What should she do now?
“The Real Deal” By Tom Wentworth
Actor: Liz Carr
Director: Ewan Marshall
Meg is looking out her window trying to catch sight of a man whom she thinks is a benefits cheat. She is compiling details about him in order to shop him for fraud. But unexpectedly, he forges a friendship with her and encourages her to claim more benefits for herself. A dark and witty tale set against the benefits system in the U.K.
“Hamish” By Jack Thorne
Actor: Robert Softley Gale
Director: Amit Sharma
It’s 1981. Hamish’s parents have been fundraising to buy him a new wheelchair. Crucially, it is a self-operated vehicle, and a chance for independence. Pushed everywhere by caregivers before this, Hamish heads for the woods to find sexual pleasure. But he hasn’t counted on such rough terrain…
“Paper Knickers” By Jackie Hagan
Actor: Jackie Hagan
Director: Ewan Marshall
Jackie is in a hospital bed. She is facing a decision about whether to have her leg amputated. As she thinks through her options, she explores her feelings for someone she has recently met, who seems interested in her. Will she have a chance of pursuing her romance with only one leg? A bold, witty exploration of what it is to be an amputee.
“The Shed” By Matilda Ibini
Actor: Carly Houston
Director: Jenny Sealey
A children’s writer finds herself falling in love with Keira, her next-door neighbor. But Ellie, her caregiver, does not approve of the relationship. She starts to subtly block and subvert the romance, with dangerous consequences. A chilling tale exploring the power that a caregiver can exert over a wheelchair user’s life.
