Who K💔lled the Elder Statesman?: A One-Act COVID Inquest at Holy Erotic Propaganda Arson (HEPA)

WHO KILLED THE ELDER STATESMAN?

A One-Act COVID Inquest

Public reading presented by Holy Erotic Propaganda Arson (HEPA)

Premiere: October 31, 2026 Format: Virtual, prerecorded Approximate running time: 60 minutes

Who Killed the Elder Statesman? is a one-act procedural play presented by the anonymous arts collective Holy Erotic Propaganda Arson (HEPA), the company behind the award-winning production Wake Up and Smell the C*VID: An Evening Without Eric Bogosian.

During a West End theatrical revival, a beloved later-career actor becomes suddenly ill and dies.

Is it just age?

Or is something in the air?

Who Killed the Elder Statesman? investigates the normalization of illness and deaths among older performers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Structured as a coronial death inquest, with characters including a Coroner, Pathologist, Co-Star, Director, Daughter, Insurance Rep and Medium, the play examines the explanations offered when a preventable death is treated as inevitable.

The approximately 60-minute production is being created remotely, with masked and anonymous performers appearing in a prerecorded reading scheduled to premiere on Halloween, October 31, 2026.

HEPA’s previous mutual-aid theatre production, Wake Up and Smell the C*VID: An Evening Without Eric Bogosian raised donations for artists living with Long COVID and received the "Inspiring Storytelling Award" at the Inspire Performing Arts Festival By and For the Airborne Aware, the first COVID conscious performing arts festival.

The new production continues HEPA’s exploration of the devastating impact COVID and Long COVID are having on the arts. Its remote production process includes flexible rehearsal arrangements and plans for performer covers so that illness or last-minute changes do not jeopardize the entire performance.

Viewing details and full cast and creative credits will be announced.

Previous Coverage:

Two Long COVID-focused performances show the power of art for reflection and solidarity: https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/29/two-long-covid-focused-performances-show-the-power-of-art-for-reflection-and-solidarity/

Mask For Pleasure: COVID-impacted Artists Raise Awareness at George Clooney's Broadway Opening: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Mask-For-Pleasure-COVID-impacted-Artists-Raise-Awareness-at-George-Clooneys-Broadway-Opening-20250406

“Wake Up and Smell the C*VID: An evening without Eric Bogosian”: new play takes aim at NYC mask ban and more: https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-news/2025/03/31/wake-up-and-smell-the-covid/

After New York COVID play reporting vanishes, artists launch global cultural intervention, call-in Eric Bogosian: https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2025/04/19/covid-play-eric-bogosian/