The Designated Mourner is a play written by Wallace Shawn in 1996, which was adapted into a film and was directed by David Hare in 1997.

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. The play was revived in 2017 at REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater). The production was directed by André Gregory, featuring the same cast from the New York production, and was presented by Alex Westerman. The play was ranked the 10th greatest American play of the past 25 years in a 2018 list by The New York Times critics.