Endlings

by Celine Song

On the Korean island of Man-Jae, three elderly haenyeos—sea women—spend their dying days diving into the ocean to harvest seafood. Across the globe on the island of Manhattan, a Korean-Canadian playwright, twice an immigrant, spends her days wrestling with the expectation that she write “authentic” stories about her identity. This “fascinating, audacious and deftly satirical” new play by Celine Song, directed by Sammi Cannold, questions what we inherit and challenges who dictates the terms.

Genres: Plays

Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Leylamaría]

“I am a hundred years old
I am a century old
And I have stories I am going to take to my grave
About the men that died and left us alone at the beach
What Ive seen under the sea
Stories about the dead chicks
Stories about an aching body that is pickled with time
Stories I will die with
Stories that will be buried with me
Stories no one cares about
Stories you will forget
Stories you should forget
And when my body is finally washed away by the waves
It will be as though no one’s ever lived here
And the island is just an empty lot
Waiting to be sold.”

—

Would pay the NYTW to stage this again. Holy fucking shit. One of the best plays I’ve ever read.

[Camilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

“America is afraid that immigrants are going to change what it means to be American, and the truth is that we will. We always have. We immigrants throw into question the acceptable power structures in a society, because we are transformers.”

Celine, I’ve been one of your biggest fans since Past Lives and this play made me fall in love even more with your work.

I’d also recommend another great historical (and entertaining) depiction of the lives of haenyeos, When Life Gives You Tangerines.

“All I had to do was exist”. Immigrants, let’s keep taking up space because all we have to do is be ourselves, tell our stories, exist.

[maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A genuinely incredible piece of writing. I can’t even begin to imagine how this would be staged (at times, it feels more screenplay than playtext), but I would love to see it someday

[kaitlyn]

‘endlings’ is a beautiful honoring of haenyeos and a profound (and funny!) exploration of legacy, how we spend our lives - and for who.

pure chance that i read this only a few days after the first anniversary of my grandmother’s death, which severely deepened the impact of reading this play. celine song has composed a stunning theatrical opus with ‘endlings’. i also adore impossible theatre that simultaneously Must Only Be A Play. shoutout to the clams.

it’s beyond moving that haenyeos will become extinct in the near future and celine song wrote a play that immortalizes them.


~

i’ve been a mega fan of celine song’s films and thrilled to finally have access to her plays. (if anyone knows where to get the ‘tom&eliza’ script, please let me know!)

[Kaia Kim-Weigandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

“i was bribed into writing this play/ i was bribed by white people’s attention/ and by white people’s real estate/ i want to sell my skin for theatre/ i want to sell my skin for a piece of real estate”

wow this was a ming boggling and incredible play. i had no idea what to expect coming into the play, i thought i might find it a little boring, but this play defied every expectation i had about it. as a korean woman and an artist/creative i completely identified with ha young. this play is unforgettable and witty and smart and hilarious and also just SO DAMN REAL. i would definitely love to see it on stage one day

[zz · Rating 4 out of 5]

You wouldn't believe it
The water was deeper than I thought it would be
I was supposed to reach the ocean floor
But I never did
So I kept going and going
And in the water I saw my husband
I did
With my own eyes And you know
The thing about my husband is
He died too young
And left me alone for too long
He was so happy to see me
He showed me his penis, big as a whale's
But he'd become a prostitute
So he wanted me to go and pay the turtle
This five-hundred-year old turtle
And so I swam over to the pimp
I told him I didn't have any money
I said
"I work every day
But I still have no money at all I don't know why
I don't know why I am broke
After working for fifty years every day
I'm sorry
It's my fault
It must be my fault
But please hear me out
I just swam over here to say I want to fuck my husband
I haven't seen him in over fifty years
And he was once mine
He was once my property
His body was once a home to my love
Fifty years ago
And I want to visit it again
I want to visit this home I once lived in again
And I admit I am very poor
And I have no money to pay you to have him again
But is there any other way?"
The turtle said that it's okay
He had no interest in money
The turtle just asked for my leg
So I gave him my leg I didn't think twice
Because what do I need my leg for?
I don't want to swim anymore anyway
I don't want to swim anymore
I have never wanted to swim this well
Anyway
My husband and I
We had sex

[Joanne Won · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just really appreciate Celine’s honest, likely uncomfortable for some, words and themes. She really gives a “IDGAF” attitude in her content which I respect. Of course, with this play centering around a dying Korean tradition, it invokes a feeling of sadness in me with the cruel contrast of a greedy American dream for real estate. She plays into contradictions in a way that’s drastic and hollowing - just like that ending in Past Lives, she’s good at making you feel that way. Big fan of Celine and go Korean women who don’t do what people expect of them and do what they want!!! 🫡

[Jesse Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels a little silly to log a play? I think I tried to log Tom & Eliza when I reread it earlier this year and it wasn't here because it isn't published. But neither is this and here it is. Both great plays, would love to see either performed.

[char]

i’m obsessed with this plays relationship to the theatrical form. i would love to see this play performed because i’m not even convinced it’s possible (this is a compliment)

[Yana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5!!

[Lili Marble · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to see this one live multi media triumph perhaps?

[phia meiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow

[Catalina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Joss G · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is phenomenal