Dark Play or Stories for Boys
THE STORY: During a college sexual encounter, the girl in Nick’s bed wants to know why his abdomen is covered in scars. Does Nick tell the truth, or does he do what he does so well—weave an elaborate tale? The question launches him into a memory. An outsider at age fourteen, Nick discovers the intoxicating pleasures of inventing fake personalities in the chat rooms of the World Wide Web. Adam’s online profile, and the words “I want to fall in love,” pique his curiosity. Nick invents Rachel, the girl of Adam’s dreams, and his curiosity becomes obsession. As Adam mounts the pressure to meet his Internet love in the real world, Nick creates ever more elaborate deceptions to fuel Adam’s desire. When the boys finally meet in the real world, the consequences are catastrophic. A tale of deception, fluid personality and sexual license in the Internet age, DARK PLAY examines what happens when the real world and virtual world collide.
“Murillo’s enjoyably hyper-theatrical play concerns the infinite latent possibilities within us, and the disturbing way in which our alienating and atomizing world encourages the furtive pursuit of one’s kinkiest desires.” —Los Angeles Times.
“It’s provocative and sensual. And it probes the pressing question—the changing nature of identity in the virtual world.” —Chicago Tribune.
“Murillo has an ear for the way kids talk, especially on the Internet…Amorality has rarely seemed so seductive—and so absolutely scary—as this.” —Orlando Sentinel.
“…a shocking, revelatory look at how the Internet blurs reality and virtual reality. Perhaps no play since Equus has so searingly explored the violently malleable world of pubescent male sexuality.” —Denver Post.
“…as sharp as a razor and as dark as the mind of a depressed teenager…timely and compelling.” —Louisville Courier Journal.
“A lurid and provocative mind-tease of a play that is alternately irresistible and horrifying.” —Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
