Playwright Stephen Spotswood Discusses Zombie-Themed Premiere at Theatre Prometheus

Stephen Spotswood speaks about the inspiration for his new play, Where Dead Women Go to Dance, now receiving its world premiere at Theatre Prometheus. The story centers on best friends Kim and Ellen, with Kim resurrecting Ellen after her unexpected death, leading to an exploration of friendship, mortality, and what people owe one another. Spotswood says the zombie trope lets him address the joys and challenges of being alive, and that the writing process revealed a platonic love story while also examining undiagnosed depression and quiet desperation.

The interview was conducted by Amanda Zeitler, Theatre Prometheus’s managing director. The production is a Maryland world premiere. Spotswood previously used a werewolf framework in In The Forest, She Grew Fangs to examine trauma, and here he turns to zombies to consider living fully. The initial seed was a visual: one friend pulling another’s bloodied body into a kitchen.

As drafting continued, the relationship between Kim and Ellen emerged as a nonromantic love story. Later revisions foregrounded depression that goes unrecognized and silent despair. Spotswood also noted musical companions while writing, including Paris Paloma, Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Florence and the Machine.