With a series of plot twists and revelations, this year’s winter play, La Dama del Alba  (Lady of the Dawn), is poised to leave audiences with a new viewpoint on death.

A pilgrim arrives at a family’s house on the anniversary of their daughter Angelica’s apparent death. She is invited in, as the family assumes she will bring blessings upon their home. However, throughout the play, she reveals her true identity and mission: she is a physical manifestation of death and has come to take the life of a member of their family.

This personification of death differs greatly from the common representation of death in the media. Example after example form a common trend. The grim reaper forced to accompany the protagonists after losing a contest in the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, the figure appearing when a Sim dies in the Sims franchise, and the dark being coming to collect the lives of those who are meant to die in Family Guy all differ in personality but share a common physical form: a black cloak covering a slender skeletal body and a scythe.

However, in this play, that is not the case. “Death is in the form of a woman,” says Daniella Leon, who plays the Pilgrim in the Spanish version of the play, “She has to kill people and make them suffer, but she doesn’t know what it’s like to live.”  The Pilgrim is mysterious yet emotional, her mind filled with the envy of those experiencing mortality and joy and the reluctance of completing her mission. The Pilgrim establishes a new identity for death throughout the play, as you can see her desire to be human growing.

“It’s so strange,” Emily Sanchez, the Pilgrim in the English version, commented about her view of the play, “and in the end there’s this huge plot twist that everyone should see.” La Dama Del Alba will premier in English on Friday, December 11 at 7:00 PM, followed by a second performance Saturday, December 12 at 3:00 PM. The Spanish version will show on Saturday, December 12 at 7:00 PM and on Sunday, December 13 at 3:00 PM.