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Dead Highway

Dead Highway

by Christopher Evans

Dead Highway is a pulse-pounding thriller set in the terrifying aftermath of a viral apocalypse. Six teenagers fight for survival against the undead, facing brutal realities and testing the limits of their bonds. Expect intense action, dark humor, and raw emotion in this gripping story of desperation and resilience.

This high-stakes play offers flexible staging and unique opportunities for your makeup and costume team. Dead Highway delivers a visceral and thought-provoking theatrical experience, perfect for captivating audiences with its chilling portrayal of survival against overwhelming odds.

Drama

Recommended for High Schools

Running Time
About 30 minutes
Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes
Cast
8 Characters
3 M5 F, plus Several Zombies
Set
Simple set
Length
30 pages
Free Excerpt

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8 Characters
3 M, 5 F, plus Several Zombies
EBS VOICE [A] 4 lines
Offstage radio voice for the Emergency Broadcast Service. Can be played by one of the dead.
CURT [M] 54 lines
The athlete and the protector of the group. Very tempermental. You want Curt in your apocalypse group even with his temper.
CASEY [F] 50 lines
The play’s “everygirl.” She is smart and pragmatic. She can be funny. She can also be fierce.
BONZAI [M] 63 lines
The human embodiment of the slang word “chill.” It’s his car. It’s his half-eaten bag of Doritos. It’s his Pink Floyd cassette tape. Tries to enjoy life as much as he can. Even in the Apocalypse. Gets bear-sprayed in the face.
CAITLYN [F] 42 lines
Smart and sarcastic even to the point of being considered mean. Loves to point out the mistakes of the group. Friends with Jennifer.
DENISE [F] 41 lines
The book-smart one of the group. Sees herself as an outsider. Seems okay with it. Fascinated by the current apocalypse situation and is learning from it. Not a fan of Caitlyn.
JENNIFER [F] 30 lines
The girl with money, great hair, and high end clothing. Named her cellphone. Not quite the level of mean and sarcastic as Caitlyn but very close.
MASON HENDRICKS [M] 1 line
Offstage disc jockey. Nice guy. Loves his family. In a situation that he can’t get out of and eventually runs out of time.
BRYNN [F] 15 lines
We first meet Brynn as a girl who is quite bloodied on her face and torso. Brynn meets the group outside of town when the group has stopped there to gas up at her family’s gas station. She is mentally and spiritually broken after witnessing a fatal attack on her little sister by the zombies. The blood on Brynn came from embracing her little sister after the attack. She’s not mentally breaking down. That happened a while ago. She’s broken mentally. Right now. The old Brynn is gone and this is what’s left. Her personalities range from childlike to serious to dangerous. She carries bear spray to protect herself from the “monsters.”
THE ZOMBIES [A] 0 lines
I based these on the slow and very driven zombies from the George Romero’s Night Of The Living Dead movies and The Walking Dead TV series. These zombies are no joke. Given an opportunity, they will kill.

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From the Drama Teacher Learning Centre

Theatrefolk Featured Play: Dead Highway
Featured Plays

Theatrefolk Featured Play: Dead Highway

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Dead Highway by Christopher Evans is a pulse-pounding thriller set in the terrifying aftermath of a viral apocalypse. Six teenagers fight for survival against the undead, facing brutal realities and testing the limits of their bonds. Expect intense action, dark humor, and raw emotion in this gripping story of desperation and resilience. This high-stakes play offers flexible staging and unique opportunities for your makeup and costume team. Dead Highway delivers a visceral and thought-provoking theatrical experience, perfect for captivating audiences with its chilling portrayal of survival against overwhelming odds. Why did we publish this play?Dead Highway is both full on funny and full on horror. That horror piece was key for us. All our current horror/zombie material is more tongue-in-cheek and we didn't have anything straight up apocalyptic. Dead Highway is all that and more. Add to that, this play has a number of fantastic student tech opportunities. What do the zombies look like? How does the set crew put together the car the characters travel in? How is the apocalypse lit? We love this play and you will too! Let's hear from the author! 1. Why did you write this play?I am a big fan of the Walking Dead and wanted to see if their realistic style would transfer to the stage. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences?Teenagers can be resilient in the face of unending odds. 3. What's the most important visual for you in this play?The last one. Casey in the car surrounded by the dead lit only by her cellphone. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be?Keep it simple and keep it ,as much as you can, gore free. Bloody is good but some administrators might have a problem with gore. 5. Why is this play great for student performers?It’s so fun to handle this play. From being a Zombie (makeup!) to working as a tight ensemble made this a real joy. The play has sporadic humor in it so it’s not entirely a slog through heavy drama. 6. Who is your favourite character in the play?Brynn - a tough character to play because she is the one character who is mentally and spiritually broken by the Apocalypse. A very traumatic event broke her. Tough role but if you nail it it’s terrifying. 7. What is your favourite line in the play?Jennifer’s line: “So, according to you, the universe is a giant alien development plan?”
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