Using death and the afterlife to explore existential questions is nothing new. John Donne’s poem The Flea (c.1590) used metaphysical language to justify the sentiment of carpe diem. Fast forward to the 20th century and Jean-Paul Sartre’s Huis Clos/No Exit (1944) had three deceased characters locked in a room together for eternity, realising “Hell is indeed other people”. More recently in 2017, Milly Thomas’ solo show Dust explored the thoughts and emotions of someone who ‘wakes up dead’ and ponders on the things of her former life she’ll miss. Elsewhere in popular culture, ‘The Body’ and ‘Conversations With Dead People’ episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer cemented in the minds of a generation the use of death and the supernatural as a metaphor for ‘the human condition’. Which brings us to Whole Headache theatre company’s latest play…
Directed by Emma Gibson and Joshua Robey, Corpse In The Room is the brainchild of Emily Gibson, who also plays the unnamed ‘Woman’ in the play. Accompanying her on stage is Ilya Wray as the aforementioned ‘Corpse’ (and contrary to his ‘status’, is as equally talkative as his ‘companion’). How both the Woman and the Corpse came to be in the same room is part of the mystery that unfolds over time. The play, however, doesn’t truly begin in earnest until the Woman decides to go to sleep…
Ignoring for the moment the paradoxical notion of the Dead denying there is life after death, we find that the Woman in her dream-like state is less than happy with her life and ponders if being dead is a preferable state to be. The way that the Corpse rebuffs the Woman’s romanticised notions of death is very much like the themes of author Anne Rice, who in some of her tomes discusses what the non-corporeal and undead envy – the full range of human senses with which to enjoy life. As for the Corpse, he admits that he would gladly relive every mundane day of his former life – even with its grizzly end – than being as he is now. This brings us to the crux of the play – perspective on one’s life, both ‘in the moment’ and from ‘the outside’.
Up for debate during their conversation is how much we should blame ourselves for the actions of others and how much autonomy we really have in our lives. While it could be argued that each character debates from an emotional standpoint, Nick – the Woman’s boyfriend – is undoubtedly the fulcrum and the reason they are in the same room. It could be argued, however, that respectively the characters had feelings of guilt and powerlessness, and ‘owning’ their actions is really emotional flagellation.
When the Corpse’s summarises aspects of his own life, certain thoughts come to mind – but possibly not what the audience is meant to dwell on. A holiday, a bottle of wine in the fridge, a cat at home. Nothing wrong with any of these things, but as the sum of one’s life, they don’t add up to much – not much to be remembered by in the grand scheme of things. What did have emotional resonance though was his realisation that his death ‘came out of the blue’ – that it was random and that it was not part of a physical/emotional journey of someone (which would occur if he was elderly or had a terminal disease). In this respect, the Corpse was ‘deprived’ of going through the five stages of death (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance) beforehand. As a sidenote, the play is from the POV of two young people and their respective reflections on death. Had the play centered on older people and they had more of a ‘mixed bag’ of life experiences, their thoughts and ‘wants’ regarding life/death might have been very different. But I digress.
As the writer of the play and the Woman, Emily Gibson has put a lot of thought and passion into making Corpse In The Room a reality. The Woman she plays yearns for a better life, yet doesn’t grasp (initially) the options she has, even though nothing worthwhile in life comes easy.
As for Wray, his pragmatic (if unsentimental) persona grounds the show, though like the opinion of the Woman in the play, one has to decide if he’s telling ‘the whole truth’ or whether he only speaks about what he empirically knows.
© Michael Davis 2025
Corpse In The Room ran at The Space Arts Centre from 18th to 22nd March.
Review is based on the livestream performance on 21st March.
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