Better Red Than Dead

A New Work by Liv Wilson

Presented at the Tank NYC in June 2022

Synopsis: What puts someone on the watch list for communist subversion? Better Red Than Dead takes us back to the 1950s during the Second Red Scare to find out. We follow the story of two gay secret agents attempting to interrogate Little Red, a thirteen year old girl who they have reason to believe has communist tendencies. This absurd, yet grounded one-act comedy parodies the U.S. government’s approach to identify and reaction to potential threats as well as citizens’ own ability (or lack thereof) to hide who they truly are. Based off of Little Red Riding Hood, this keystone cop adaptation twists and turns to create an alternative historical reality, which begs the question: who is the real criminal here?