Vigil

by Morris Panych

A man returns after thirty years to sit with a relative on her deathbed. Kemp's problem is: she's not dying fast enough. Through Kemp's own errors and inattentiveness, the visit that he thinks will take a day or two stretches into a year. A play of mistaken identity, twisted circumstance, and surprising turns, this is one "Vigil" worth keeping.

Genres: Plays

80 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5, rounded up.

I'm systematically reading or re-reading all of Panych's catalog that I can get my hands on, and this was his first play that I read, over a decade ago - after the privilege of seeing the late, great Olympia Dukakis play Grace in SF's ACT production. The play is very funny in a mordant, sometimes morbid vein, and the late surprise twist is extremely satisfying.

[Caroline]

One of the best plays I have read!

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightfully dark and surprisingly poignant. I'd love to do this show sometime

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great characterization with a wonderful twist. Hope to see it on our stage.

[Courtney Aguilar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange man... so lonely

[Nancy Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was enjoying it very much but the ending left me very unsatisfied. Perhaps that was the author’s intention. Perhaps translate better to the stage.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent two-hander black comedy about family, identity and death.

[Kira]

Man verbosely waits for Aunt to die. Somehow I didn’t see the twist coming and it tickled me.

[Woman Reading (is away exploring) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I saw this performed as a play with only 2 performers, one of whom stayed nearly completely mute.
This is a hilarious, cathartic story of black gallows humor for long-term care givers. The book wasn't as sharp as the play but it was good enough.