As writers, we see it all the time: actors refusing a role because they don't agree with a character's politics or audiences demonizing an author for writing characters with radical views. This play serves as a fantastic metaphor for the death of media literacy in today's society—and makes a subtle statement about cancel culture and the ways we ignore learning and growth in favor of creating monsters. Truthfully, I can't even blame Deirdre, a retail worker, for her actions! She's not being paid enough! This play is scary, and that has nothing (or everything?) to do with Zombies!

I have no way of knowing if this story is based on a real incident, but sad to say I think it could be. It makes me wonder if we have reached a point in which what is depicted as fantasy has an impact on someone's real life. It would be easy to dismiss this situation as just social issues run amok and those who take issues as ridiculous, but the way things are...

DC Cathro's depiction of the situation is level-headed, maddening, and therefore supremely hard-hitting.

One of DC Cathro's many talents is his ability to keep you thinking about his plays long after the final blackout. "A Day in the Life of a Former Zombie" poses a difficult moral question with no easy answers: Should a worker get fired for things he depicted in a movie years ago?
Before you answer, read the play. Better yet, produce the play, so audiences can experience this compelling, tense drama and ponder its conclusion for themselves.