You’re Next

You’re Next premiered at Lyman High School (Longwood, FL) as part of the Florida Thespian one-act competition. It was featured in the curriculum at John F. Ross CVI (a high school in Guelph, Ontario), where the supervising teacher reported that “It was the favourite of four plays studied for almost two-thirds of the kids.”

You’re Next can either stand alone or play with Ticking and Play’s End as part of the Gunplay trilogy.

Synopsis

Jay, still dripping water from being thrown in the shower again by the school bully, huddles with his best friend, Peter, in a room just off the locker room. Peter has brought a gun and wants Jay to use it on the bully. When Jay hesitates, Peter first tries to reason with him, then questions his courage and even his sexuality. But Jay holds firm—son of a gun salesman, he hates guns—and it finally becomes clear that it is Peter who needs help; the bully has told Peter that he’s next on his list, and he doesn’t know what to do.