Other Projects
Die Fledermaus
To launch Vancouver Opera's 60th Anniversary Season in 2024, Mark wrote all new, updated dialogue for the classic comic opera by Johann Strauss II.
Directed by Ashlie Corcoran and conducted by Jacques Lacombe, the production was set in the swinging sixties.
"The greatest triumph here is Crawford’s, whose crackling dialogue is filled with naughty innuendos and winking self-referential jabs." - STIR Vancouver
"With the hijinx, deception, romantic entanglements, comedy, and champagne reminiscent of a sixties rom-com, Mark Crawford has crafted and updated a witty script that goes hand-in-hand with the sets and costumes." - On the List
"The English libretto by playwright Mark Crawford brilliantly offset the sung German with pithy comments that often broke the fourth wall... Brought down the house!" - Opera Canada
"The spoken dialogue in English, cleverly adapted by Canadian comic dramatist Mark Crawford, is sprinkled with racy jokes and meta-theatrical groaners." - Vancouver Sun
Don't Get Me Startered
An audio play written for the PlayMe Podcast and CBC Radio as part of the Quarantine Chronicles, Don't Get Me Startered is a comedic thriller about a pandemic sourdough bread obsession gone wrong.
Part of a series of audio dramas by some of Canada's top playwrights, it features actors Maev Beaty, Matthew Gorman, and Sabryn Rock, with cameos by Herbie Barnes and Maggie Huculak.
Read more about this piece and others here.
Priya Tate: Super Taster
A short musical for young audiences written with composer Britta Johnson, Priya Tate: Super Taster is part of Bad Hats Theatre's Bad Shorts video series.
Priya Tate isn’t like anyone else, or so she thinks. On a birthday visit to her Grandma’s favourite restaurant, Priya struggles, as usual, with ‘picky eating’. There are too many flavours, each one more painful than the last. Priya is ready to give up when she discovers a secret that will change her life (and dinnertime) forever. An action-packed feast for the senses, this musical short story reminds us to bravely celebrate our unique talents, and harness their true power for good.
With visuals by illustrator Isadora Lima Fortin, it was directed by Matt Pilipiak and Fiona Sauder, produced by Victor Pokinko, and stars some of Canada's finest musical theatre performers: Joel Cumber, Starr Domingue, Barbara Fulton, Natalia Gracious, Andrew Prashad, and Suchiththa Wickremesooriya.
The Hyacinthia
A short musical, written with composer and co-lyricist Kevin Wong, The Hyacinthia was conceived through Bad Hat Theatre's New Bad Ideas.
A contemporary pop-infused retelling of the myth of Apollo and Hyacinthus, The Hyacinthia is a gay musical Greek tragedy romcom.
Originally presented in September, 2025 at Toronto's Burdock Music Hall, this fifteen-minute version was directed by Matt Pilipiak and Fiona Sauder and starred Joel Cumber, Jacob MacInnis, Alex Samaras, Anika Venkatesh, Belinda Corpuz, and Julia Schwartz.
More on this project to come!
Photo Credits on this page: Banner Photo and Die Fledermaus photos by Emily Cooper. Banner Photo: Claire de Sévigné (centre) with the Company of Die Fledermaus at Vancouver Opera. Die Fledermaus Photos: John Chest and Lara Ciekiewicz; Claire de Sévigné, John Chest, and Lara Ciekiewicz. Don't Get Me Startered Illustration by Aza Jin. Priya Tate: Super Taster photos from Bad Hats Theatre. Photo 1: Natalia Gracious, Photo 2: Barbara Fulton (foreground) with Andrew Prashad, Starr Domingue, Joel Cumber, and Suchiththa Wickremesooriya. The Hyacinthia: photo by Barry McCluskey of Bad Hats Theatre's New Bad Ideas, 2025.