Sometimes the greatest inheritance isn’t what we receive
Dark, Depression, Self-Reflective
Monologue, 10 minutes
Licensing:
Zero cost, but all performances of this monologue must credit the playwright: Dan Gillgren
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SYNOPSIS
The Inheritance is a ten-minute monologue in which a prison guard receives a small box of unsent letters left behind by a deceased inmate. As he reads, his judgment slowly gives way to recognition, and he realises the words reflect his own hidden struggles with depression, shame, and survival. What he believed was another man’s story becomes an uncomfortably familiar mirror, forcing him to confront the emotional armour he has worn for years. The inheritance carries an unanticipated consequence: it compels him to reject a promotion, abandon the illusion of strength, and accept that survival itself is an act of courage. The play ultimately affirms that human worth is not something we earn, but something we must finally allow ourselves to believe.
Production History
This monologue has not yet been performed.
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