←Recommendations of Dead Meat

Unsettling, hilarious, and brilliantly rendered socio-sci-fi-dark-satire with absurd elements. Paige Zubel explores masculinity, gender roles, gender identity, and the intersection between those things and violence in an extremely original and insightful way. The whole bizarre theatrical reality is established brilliantly and subtly, with nary a hint of unnecessary exposition. The contrast of Alex's urgent quest with the devolving dynamic between Beanie, Boris, and Brian creates tension and a propulsive energy. I love how this piece works as exciting, apocalyptic sci-fi as well as an extended metaphor for escaping prescribed roles with what felt like a cautiously optimistic ending.

I was lucky enough to see this piece as a reading before and found it absolutely thrilling. Now, in our time of covid, it's viral, post-apocalyptic setting somehow feels even more relevant. Here, Zubel is the crafter of a unique and terrifying world where BBQs rule, women are zombies, and you really shouldn't trust the meat. The characters are absolutely brimming with humor and the writing as as clever as it gets. And throughout is an overwhelming need to survive and find some semblance of normalcy. I highly recommend this play!

Saw this performed as a staged reading by Ignition Arts at the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma in March 2019. Smart and delightfully perplexing, Zubel undercuts the dude-bro caricatures and laugh-out-loud absurdist humor with the claustrophobic scenes of Alex and her quest for survival. An unexpected, thought-provoking take on zombies about gender and rules and the importance of BBQ.

A gripping, crazy-assed (in the best way possible), terrifying, hysterically funny portrayal of the end of the world. Three flawed men desperately to try hang on to a crazy perception of “dudeness” as the real world crumbles. Zubel’s brilliant play will keep you up all night thinking about it.

A post-apocalyptic barbecue. There's meat, too many goldfish, and a bizarre memorial ritual that involves twinkie-binging. Did I mention that all the women have become zombies? Oh, and that the all-XY cast is played by women? Don't be fooled by the threat of the undead: this irreverent testosterone tragedy sneaks in some insightful commentary under the guise of a zombie chiller. Creepy and clever.

At the end of the world, when all seem to have been destroyed, toxic masculinity will survive according to this insightful and hysterical play. Characters that seem at first to be satirical stereotypes have real depth and growth. With this play, all will laugh and men will learn.

I cracked up reading this play! These three knuckle heads are the best. I started off reading it thinking how weird it is that women are the ones that get screwed and are now zombies, when these jerks get to have cookouts. But the characters are much more than male chauvinist pigs ( thank God). The lack of women forces them to face themselves in ways that they didn't have to when women were plentiful. And by the end of the play I found myself rooting for them to survive.

This play is the most brutal and hysterical commentary on toxic masculinity I've ever read - femininity becomes a literal disease and the bro code rules prevail in this dystopic future. Gritty, raw, painfully human, and truly well crafted.