Peerless

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Peerless

Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy  /  3w, 2m

Jiehae Park

"Peerless is neither an over-the-top farce nor a moralistic downer. It's frothy fun, full of goofy dancing and awkward romantic fumbles in the classic John Hughes style. Yet Peerless is as scary as it is silly. It's about anger and cruelty and danger and life and death. It's also about coming-of-age and coming to grips with mortality." – Hartford Courant

Image: 2015 Yale Repertory Theatre Production (Joan Marcus)

Peerless

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 2m
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptations (Shakespeare)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary
Asian-American twins M and L have given up everything to get into The College. So when D, a one-sixteenth Native American classmate, gets “their” spot instead, they figure they’ve got only one option: kill him. A darkly comedic take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth about the very ambitious and the cut-throat world of high school during college admissions.

History

Peerless premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, CT in November 2015 under the direction of Margot Bordelon.

Keywords
Performing Groups
M & L - twin sisters. Asian
BF - M’s boyfriend. Black
D - male. Looks (really) white. 1/16 Native American.
DIRTY GIRL - aka Caroline aka That Weird Girl in High School You Know The One.
D’s BROTHER - (doubles with D)
PREPPY GIRL - (doubles with DIRTY GIRL) 
  • Time Period Contemporary
  • Setting Midwestern suburbia. High School.
  • Additional Features No intermission
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes
    • Smoking

Media

REVIEWS 

"Peerless is neither an over-the-top farce nor a moralistic downer. It's frothy fun, full of goofy dancing and awkward romantic fumbles in the classic John Hughes style. Yet Peerless is as scary as it is silly. It's about anger and cruelty and danger and life and death. It's also about coming-of-age and coming to grips with mortality." - Hartford Courant, Read More 

"...a theatrical genre-bending piece...Peerless is concerned not only about the broader socio-academic-cultural issue but also the human toll." - The Berkshire Eagle, Read More 

"With its staccato rhythms, short scenes, and farcical characters, unlike any you’ve ever seen before onstage, it’s hard to know how to characterize this play, except to say that it’s unexpectedly wonderful." - The Arts Fuse, Read More 

"...suitably spooky, fitfully funny..." - San Diego Union-Tribune, Read More

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

Scene Study and Classroom Reading: Plays for Colleges and Universities
by Becca Schlossberg
August 23, 2019

Our Picks for 2019 Fall Plays
Samuel French  
March 27, 2019

5 Things I Learned from Performing in Peerless by Jiehae Park
Coryn Carson
December 3, 2018

Playwright Interview: Jiehae Park
by Trevor Reece 
November 8, 2018


Videos

  • Reviews for Peerless at Yale Rep youtube thumbnail

    Reviews for Peerless at Yale Rep

  • Behind the scenes of Yale Rep's Peerless. youtube thumbnail

    Behind the scenes of Yale Rep's Peerless.

Photos

  • Peerless

    Image: 2015 Yale Repertory Theatre Production (Joan Marcus)

  • Peerless

    Image: 2015 Yale Repertory Theatre Production (Joan Marcus)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £55 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:
Get the Script

Authors

Jiehae Park

Jiehae Park

Jiehae Park's plays include peerless (Yale Rep premiere, Cherry Lane MP, Marin Theatre Co, Barrington Stage, First Floor, Company One, Moxie), Hannah and the Dread Gazebo (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Here We Are Here (Sundance Theater-Makers residency, Berkeley Rep’s Ground ...

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