Your Wife's Dead Body

Your Wife's Dead Body by Jenny Ledel

In the near future, Jane takes advantage of a new AI technology that would extend her lifespan...even if she's not around to see it for herself.
This world premiere asks us to consider the new and difficult questions humans my face as new technologies emerge.
A play about relationships, the nature of self, and what may or may not remain of us when we leave this life behind.

Inquire About Rights
Recommend
Download
Save to Library

Your Wife's Dead Body

Recommended by

Parker Davis Gray: Your Wife's Dead Body Your Wife's Dead Body by Jenny Ledel

“

Your Wife's Dead Body is the most heartfelt, hilarious, and terrifying critique of AI I have encountered in a Sci-Fi play. Jenny Ledel has crafted an exciting twist within such a relatable premise, that it is impossible not to get sucked in and care deeply for these characters - while also being terrified of our future. Dead Body features two incredibly rich main characters that any actor would die to sink their teeth into and builds a playful world that is a designers dream.

Your Wife's Dead Body is the most heartfelt, hilarious, and terrifying critique of AI I have encountered in a Sci-Fi play. Jenny Ledel has crafted an exciting twist within such a relatable premise, that it is impossible not to get sucked in and care deeply for these characters - while also being terrified of our future. Dead Body features two incredibly rich main characters that any actor would die to sink their teeth into and builds a playful world that is a designers dream.

”

Character Information

Some of the characters are VOICE OVER roles. You can use as many actors as you would like for the Voice over. 3 physical actors required for the performance.

Jane/J2ne

Both the human and the AI version of Jane are played by the same person.

Character Age

30s and older

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Female
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s,
  
  40s,
  
  50s,
  
  60s,
  
  70s+
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Woman,
  
  Non-binary
Jackson

Jane's husband.

Character Age

30s and up

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Male
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s,
  
  40s,
  
  50s,
  
  60s,
  
  70s+
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Man,
  
  Non-binary
Dan

Jackson's best friend at work.

Character Age

20s and up

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Male
Can be played by:
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Man,
  
  Non-binary
AI DOCTOR VOICES

Voice over roles. An AI program played by as many people as you would like. At least 3 actors.

Character Age

Any

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Any

Production History

Type Professional, Organization Second Thought Theatre , Year 2025

Genre

comedy,

dark comedy,

drama,

science fiction

Subject Matter Keywords

ai,

Sci Fi

Length

60-90 minutes

Cast Size

3—10

Age of Intended Audience

ages 18 and up

Narrative Attributes

Centers Female Characters

Supporting Materials

Published Script

https://www.broadwayplaypublishing.com/the-plays/your-wifes-dead-body/

Supporting Video

https://vimeo.com/1100093349?fl=pl&fe=vl,

https://www.wfaa.com/video/entertainment/television/programs/good-morning-texas…

Reviews

Onstage North Texas

“
Humor and grief compete for stage space in Ledel’s script, and the wife and husband at the story’s center never stop revealing new facets of their nature. Ledel has a nifty way of inserting small bits of business (a fake-sounding laugh, the mention of a popular restaurant chain) that pay off in startling ways later in the plot.

In the end, our encounter with both Janes leaves us amused, a bit horrified, and wrung out with sympathy for their plight—the humans and the AI replicant alike. “It’s dark here,” says the AI Jane, waiting for her body…and our heart stops for a moment.
”
Dallas Voice

“
The story unfolds in parallels where Ledel gives both Janes – the original amidst her increasingly frustrating interview process and 2.0’s good-hearted but clunky interactions in the real world with her husband and at times, his friend Dan.

Your Wife’s Dead Body was provocative while also tender, but moreso, it felt like a thinkpiece set to the stage.
”
KERA NEWS

“
For the balance of the play, Dead Body toggles between AI’s unrelenting if largely sincere questioning of original Jane -- a process with which she grows increasingly frustrated -- and the consequences of living with and being replicant Jane. It’s an ingenuous if simple structure, allowing the drama in both chronological arcs to build separately.

Ledel has given the character occupying Jane’s formerly dead body self-awareness and not being quite right eventually makes her sad and desperate. It’s chilling, accomplished in just a few scenes.
”