Overview
Synopsis
The Designated Mourner focuses on the lives of three people: Jack, Judy, and Howard. Howard is an outspoken critic of the right-wing, fascist regime which governs his unnamed country, and his views ultimately cost him his life. His daughter, Judy, adores her father but her husband, Jack, has grown to despise the older man. Through a series of interlocking monologues, the three characters reveal the ongoing political tensions and social pressures governing the nation. Theirs is a country in which the intellectual elite are wiped out by an authoritarian society with little tolerance for free thought. Howard’s ‘subversive’ essays and poems are decreed to be too divisive and he is marked as a dissenter and subsequently executed by the government.
As Jack caves in to a nervous breakdown, the political situation reaches its peak. With Howard dead, Judy is arrested and ultimately killed. Alone and emotionally unstable, Jack is left as the lone survivor of his middle-class circle in a nation torn apart by repression, violence, and fear.
Show Information
- Book
- Wallace Shawn
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
- Number of Acts
- 2
- First Produced
- 1996
- Genres
- Drama
- Settings
- Contemporary, Simple/No Set
- Time & Place
- An unnamed Western country, Present Day
- Cast Size
- small
- Licensor
- Dramatists Play Service
- Ideal For
- Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Small Cast, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Mature Adult Characters
Context
Plot
Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
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Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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Guide Written By:
Alexandra Appleton
Writer, editor and theatre researcher