Teenager Josh Platzer took his own life last year, leaving behind a devastated family, confused classmates and many questions.

Answers are still in short supply but his parents and friends hope an upcoming national theatre tour will start people talking about suicide, the second biggest killer of Canada's young people after car accidents.

"It's absolutely shameful that this is always brushed under the carpet," said Jude Platzer, Josh's mother, prior to the final dress rehearsal of ICE: beyond cool, a benefit held at her son's former high school.

"It cannot remain taboo," she said after last week's performance, which took place on what would have been Josh's 17th birthday. "It's simple: The more attention it gets, the fewer kids we're going to lose."

The high-energy production, which brings together dance, music, theatre and special effects in a 90- minute show, opens an eight-city tour in Ottawa's St. Laurent Shopping Centre on Wednesday night.

The 15 young performers from DanceArts Vancouver will bring their show to Toronto's Eaton Centre Oct. 4 to 7 before moving back West. They'll also hit Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria and the smaller B.C. cities of Kelowna and Prince George.

Josh Platzer was 15 and getting ready to start Grade 11 at Point Grey Secondary School in the affluent Vanouver neighbourhood of Kerrisdale when he killed himself in the summer of 1999.

Described as a bright, popular boy, Josh was diagnosed with depression the previous year. He would not take his medication. He began cutting classes. He often talked of death to friends and wrote in a "suicide diary."

But nobody spoke out, said Jude Platzer. She's convinced that if someone had, her only son and oldest of two children would be alive today. "We want people to wake up and take notice," said Platzer, 52, a registered nurse. "It's time to end the silence."

To that end, Jude and her husband, Ben, have set up the Josh Platzer Memorial Fund through the Vancouver Foundation. It's dedicated to teen suicide prevention and awareness.

They've also thrown their support behind ICE: beyond cool. They believe deeply in its message, feeling it's crucial for students, teachers and parents to hear it if the stigma of suicide is to be overcome and young lives saved.

"We need to be more in the open about this," said Ben Platzer, 57, an engineer.

"We 'had a nice family, we have nothing to be ashamed of. Now, I've lost more than my only son. I've lost my sailing buddy, my friend."
ICE: beyond cool is not specifically about Josh Platzer. It's the product of intensive workshops with about 250 teenagers. The show actually debuted in Vancouver three years ago, although this is its first tour.

But the themes are no doubt all too familiar. It deals with everything from drugs, sex and body image to bullying, fights with parents and teachers who are too busy to talk.

Suicide is a recurring theme. At one point, one of the central characters reads out the warning signs from a computer Website as though they are a shopping list. The final line in the show is: "Just be here."

Each performance, which typically takes place in a shopping mall after hours, will be followed with a talkback session with the audience. A one-page handout tells teens "It's normal to feel depressed" but stresses "You must talk." It also lists local suicide prevention hotlines.

The $1.3 million tour has a wide array of sponsors from the federal and provincial governments to unions, businesses and MuchMusic.

We’re trying to use art as a catalyst for social change and dialogue," said Judith Marcuse, the show's producer.

Krista Sung, 17, a classmate of Josh's said the show is realistic about "how teens feel inside" and should help cut down on the isolation they feel.

"If it's obvious enough to have a play about it (it) couldn't be so abnormal," said Sung, a Grade 12 student, after watching the show.

Brendan O'Grady, 17, said the show was effective because it didn't just dwell on suicide but looked at all the other pressures in people's lives that can lead to it.

Teachers also said the show will help their school community as they come to grips with Josh's suicide and try to learn from it.

"Not all stories have a happy ending but all have a lesson," said Walter Mustapich, vice-principal at Point Grey, which has nearly 1,300 students in Grades 8 to 12. "That's the message of Josh's life and this play. Silence is deadly."

TAKING ACTION: Jude and Ben Platzer, the parents of Josh Platzer watch students perform a suicide scene, left, during a rehearsal at a Vancouver school last week.