The film, which follows the play's script closely, is based on the original London stage production directed by Hare and has the same cast: Mike Nichols as Jack, Miranda Richardson as Judy, and David de Keyser as Howard.
The North American premiere of The Designated Mourner was staged in March 1997 at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, directed by Les Waters, and features David Shapiro as Jack, Martha Lavey as Judy, and Nicholas Rudall as Howard.
Andre Gregory subsequently directed a stage production in New York City in 2000 and a radio play, both of which featured Wallace Shawn as Jack, Deborah Eisenberg as Judy, and Larry Pine as Howard.
[2] The play takes place in what seems to be the present or in the near future, in an unnamed Western country (implied at points to be the United Kingdom) that is undergoing political conflict similar to what had occurred in many Latin American countries during the Cold War: a ruling oligarchy with fascist tendencies, threatened by a communist guerrilla movement based in the lower class, the former imprisoning and executing anyone suspected of subversion, including writers and intellectuals who have no direct connection to the guerrillas.
He is generally uninterested in politics, but is somewhat sympathetic toward the government's murderous acts for two reasons: he secretly resents Howard as a representative of the "highbrow" culture, and he fears that his middle-class world would be wiped out if the rebels succeeded.