←Recommendations of The Wrong Man

The Wrong Man is a clever mashup of crime and science fiction from the inventive mind and prolific pen of Rachel Feeny-Williams. Who knew there was a bureau of D.E.A.T.H.? That the agents had such onerous procedures to follow? That they are assigned to “upper” and “lower” floors? Agent D7 takes Layla on a journey back in time where she gets unexpected and unpleasant revelations about her boyfriend. There’s a great deal of theatricality in this piece, and it would be fun to see staged.

This piece was so fascinating. I always love when works personify death—in this case, through the lens of bureaucracy. The agent (D.E.A.T.H) also has a great sarcastic sense of humor which kept the piece light, in what would otherwise be a dark look at the afterlife, creating a great balance between the hard theme of death and the magical realism of an afterlife agent. The play questions the validity of love, how well we actually know someone, and if death is really final. It is done expertly through this moving piece.

You can't rush through the stages of grief - unless, of course, you're on company time. When an agent of D.E.A.T.H arrives and offers Layla the chance to audit her partner's grisly demise, you think you'll be getting an It's A Wonderful Life-esque look at the highlight reel. Instead, Layla comes to learn that D.E.A.T.H does not often make mistakes. The ending is both surprising and inevitable and reaches a tense, exciting peak as the tables are turned. Creative staging helps bring this death-defying comedy to life!

Shocked by the sudden, violent death of her boyfriend, Layla is certain there must be a mistake. Enter an agent of DEATH to painstakingly review the situation just in case there was indeed an error. The interaction between Layla and the agent, a typical bureaucrat, is hysterical. And true to Rachel Feeny-Williams fashion, there are plenty of twists and turns! This may be THE WRONG MAN, but it is the right play for someone to produce now!

I always enjoy a good comedy about afterlife bureaucracy, and this short in which Layla and an agent of D.E.A.T.H. investigate the possibility that her boyfriend’s demise was a clerical error is a solid addition to the genre. A kind of buddy-comedy road-trip case-review, it recalls Scrooge’s adventures with his visiting ghosts, but to darker, funnier, far less sentimental effect. You think you know a guy...