''Among the Dead'' is a play by

Hansol Jung Hansol Jung is a South Korean translator and playwright. Jung is a recipient the Whiting Award in drama and three of her plays were listed on the 2015 Kilroys' List. Jung is a member of the Ma-Yi Theater Writers' Lab and was a Hodder Fellow at ...

. It premiered in November 2016 at the

HERE Arts Center HERE Arts Center is a New York City off-off-Broadway presenting house, founded in 1993. Their location includes two stages specializing in hybrid performance, dance, theater, multi-media and puppetry in addition to art exhibition space and a cafe ...

under the direction of Ralph B. Peña.

Plot summary

''Among the Dead'' takes place in three main time periods and locations:

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

in 1944/45, the

Hangang Bridge The Hangang Bridge, literally ''Han River bridge'', crosses the Han River in Seoul, South Korea. It connects the districts of Yongsan-gu to the north and Dongjak-gu to the south, and crosses over the artificial island of Nodeulseom. The bridge c ...

in Seoul in 1950, and a hotel room in Seoul in 1975. In 1975, 30 year-old Ana Woods travels to

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

to scatter her estranged father's ashes.

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, appearing as a bell boy, gives Ana a journal of her father's which causes her to relive her parents' story. In 1944, Ana's father, Luke, is fighting in the Burmese jungle when he meets Number Four, a Korean

comfort woman Comfort women or comfort girls were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term "comfort women" is a translation of the Japanese '':ja: ...

. In 1950, Number Four waits on a bridge in Seoul contemplating suicide. As the play continues, it is revealed that Luke assaulted Number Four in 1944 after watching Number Four's sister be assaulted by Japanese soldiers.

Characters

* Ana Woods — a Korean-American * Luke — an American soldier fighting in Burma, Ana's father * Number Four —a Korean

, Ana's mother * Jesus —a shape-shifting character who first appears as a bell boy

Performance history

''Among the Dead'' premiered at the

for Ma-Yi Theatre in November 2016 under the direction of Ralph B. Peña. Ma-Yi's production starred Julienne Hanzelka Kim as Ana, Mickey Theis as Luke, Diana Oh as Number Four, and Will Dagger as Jesus. Kenneth Goodwin was the sound designer while Reid Thompson was responsible for scenic design. In February 2019, Spooky Action Theatre produced ''Among the Dead'' as directed by Richard Henrich. This production starred Julie M as Ana, Nahm Darr as Jesus, Chris Stinson as Luke, and Kyosin Kang as Number Four. April Joy Vester was the set designer and Amy MacDonald designed costumes. In May 2019, Deborah Block directed ''Among the Dead'' for Theatre Exile in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Block's production featured Bi Jean Ngo as Ana, James Kern as Luke, Cathy Simpson as Jesus, and Claris Park as Number Four.

References

{{Authority control 2016 plays English-language plays Plays set in the 1940s Plays set in the 1950s Plays set in the 1970s Plays set in Asia Works about comfort women Plays set in Myanmar Plays about World War II