Plague Play by Erin Proctor

Does violence simply beget more violence? Aaron discovers his body is simply a vessel to destroy a civilization. Supernatural disasters ravage his oppressors, as well as his own body, mind, and soul. His little brother Moses is able to see what is to come...and it's not very pretty. They are frightened, they are emboldened, and they have no idea what they're actually doing. An adaptation of the Book of Exodus: Chapters 7-11.
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Plague Play

Recommended by

  • Rosalind Elise Parenzan:
    23 Jan. 2023
    “ I totally forgot about Aaron existing until I read this play and now I don't think I can ever look at Exodus the same. Ideal for a company looking to explore onstage body horror. ”
  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend:
    29 Dec. 2022
    “ This play dramatizes the plagues from the Book of Exodus, but from a perspective I had never even considered: Aaron's body creates the plagues, and causing widespread sorrow like that takes a toll on a person emotionally (not to mention the physical toll of, say, vomiting up frogs). Watching the toll each plague takes on Aaron, the guilt Moses feels in what he's doing to both his adopted and biological brothers, and how the women are the rocks who hold things together is fantastic. Also there's a joke about golf balls that I wasn't expecting but absolutely adored. ”
  • Stephen Fruchtman:
    17 Jul. 2022
    “ A telling of the story of the ten plagues that is in turns hilarious and moving and visceral and human and specific and queer and kind and caring and full and so much more that I didn't even realize there was room for in a story I had gotten so used to in Haggadahs and animation. Structuring each scene around each plague is particularly clever. Trying to remember some of them and dreading the others and their impact on the characters I'd come to know over the course of the play was a powerful experience. ”
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Character Information

  • Aaron
    30s,
    Male
    An enslaved Hebrew. Moses’s older brother and Miriam's twin. His body is used as a vessel to bring forth the Plagues. Always the pessimist.
    The Wicked Child.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Any gender
  • Moses
    30s,
    Male
    A Hebrew-born, Egyptian-raised, Midianite-transplant. It’s complicated. Granted with the ability to see what is to come.
    The Simple Child.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Any gender
  • Miriam
    30s,
    Female
    An enslaved Hebrew. Moses’s older sister and Aaron’s twin. Has an innate sense of hope. Always the optimist.
    The Wise Child.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Any gender
  • Tzipporah
    30s,
    Female
    A Midianite. Moses’s wife and sister-in-law to Aaron and Miriam. Kind of just along for the ride.
    The Child Who Does Not Know How To Ask.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Any gender

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Uncle Mike Productions
    ,
    2022

Awards