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Synopsis
An estate attorney pays a welfare visit to Francis Carcaise, a reclusive widower living in a once-elegant country home that has quietly fallen into disrepair around him. As Francis – charming but increasingly disoriented – fixates on finding his missing shoe and reminisces about his late husband, Nelson, the conversation shifts from polite concern to mounting unease. Greer gradually uncovers troubling financial stagnation and signs of neglect, while Francis offers a poignant meditation on love, loneliness, and the hollowness of inherited wealth. What begins as a tense but civil check-in deepens into a chilling realization: Francis has already made a final decision about his unfinished business, and the missing shoe becomes the devastating clue that brings clarity to what has just occurred.
Inspiration Set
Playwright Note
At its heart, Lost Sole is not a play about death, but about love and what remains after it irrevocably alters a life. Francis has spent decades in true solitude, not loneliness, building a self-sufficient and quietly fulfilling existence that never felt lacking. Then Nelson arrives, and with him comes a transformative love that does not complete Francis, but awakens something he never knew he was missing. When that love ends too soon, Francis is left not only with grief, but with a new and sharper loneliness that cannot be undone. The play questions whether it is truly better to have loved and lost, and for whom that sentiment holds. As Francis navigates the aftermath, he is confronted by the practical intrusions of legacy, inheritance, and obligation, embodied by Greer and Nelson’s family, who operate within a system that values assets over memory. For Francis, these concerns are meaningless, because the only thing of value is already gone. The missing shoe becomes both a literal absence and a symbol of what remains when one half of a pair disappears, asking whether a life reshaped by love can ever find its balance again.
Production History
None to date.
Development History
LOST SOLE was actively developed over several months as part of a monthly group of established playwrights, monitored/led by Eric Webb, Dramaturg and Director of Creative Development at The TheaterMakers Studio.
Awards/Recognition
None to date.
Reviews/Recommendations
"I don't want to spoil things for anyone, but if you're interested in a short play whose ending moment has made someone mutter, "That's so cool!" with a clap of his hands, look no further. It'll take you on a nice journey from absurd curiosity to a deep, creeping sadness before dropping you off at a deliciously haunting ending."
"Wow! Somehow, I managed to dive right into this short play without reading any of the genre or subject matter keyword tags. So, like Greer, I had no idea what I was walking into, and I enjoyed it all the more for it. I highly recommend going in blind. Very well done!"
"The nerve of Houk to sustain that long a sequence of dialogue with literally no one on stage! It's its own little screw-you to convention and expectations, and the suspenseful and charming Southern gothic two-hander that follows is rich in atmosphere, queer cultural history, and juicy family drama. Chewy, chilly, and fully satisfying."
Enter "N/A" if not applicable.
REMINDER: No presentation or production of LOST SOLE, in whole or in part, is allowed unless permission is granted by the playwright or his designated agents.