A classic work by playwright wallace shawn.
Something’s happening in the country where Jack lives. There’s violence in the streets. Leaders are being replaced. Public life is transforming. The government is cracking down on anyone suspected of subversion. But Jack—consumed with his atrophying marriage to Judy, his corrosive envy of his famous poet–intellectual father-in-law Howard, and his disintegrating sense of self—barely notices. As the once-liberal society around him descends into authoritarianism, Jack plunges into his own parallel decline, a chilling abdication of everything he once valued.
Starring Wallace Shawn, Deborah Eisenberg, and Larry Pine. Written by Wallace Shawn, directed by André Gregory, sound design and music composed by Bruce Odland, and produced by Sean Williams. Cover art by Kate Kosma.
Praise for The Designated Mourner
“Terrific earworm podcasts... too funny and then too weird to tune out... beautifully rethought for the ear by the director (and longtime Shawn collaborator) André Gregory.” –The New York Times
“High-minded and intelligent, deceptively brutal… Shawn’s monologues… are portents: shape up soon, stop the cycle, and raise your gaze above the line of your belt, or feel the ground start to shake beneath your feet.” –The New Yorker
“Love that Wallace Shawn’s two plays, ‘The Designated Mourner’ and ‘Grasses of a Thousand Colors,’ have been turned into podcasts — so now everyone can listen to these wildly funny works.” –Arianna Huffington
“Although written in 1996, the themes contained within The Designated Mourner have taken on a certain contemporary resonance... As such, this gives even greater weight to the piece as a whole, and makes this a powerful and worthwhile listen.” –Set the Tape
“I was a little trepidatious about how this adaptation of Wallace Shawn’s hit play The Designated Mourner into a podcast was going to work. But it works extremely well, and it is a joy to listen to… it does take what can be the most powerful elements of a stage production and find a way to reproduce them in a more intimate setting.” –The Spectator World
“The intimate nature of a podcast suits the confessorial nature of the text.” –Sci-Fi Bulletin
“Altogether, the text stretches into a glittering web of injustices and concealed emotions tipped in tentacles of dark humor.” –Eye on Dance and the Arts
“Like Pinter in his prime.” –Michael Maiello
“The producers at Gideon Media are perfectly aware of what matters for the sound of this play… If you've never experienced a Wallace Shawn play before, this six-part podcast is a perfect introduction, with one of the best Shawn plays for the audio format.” –Ely Fernández-Collins, Audio Dramatic
LISTEN now
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CAST
This podcast was recorded under a SAG-AFTRA Collective Bargaining Agreement.