Directors Note

I first saw “Dark Play or Stories for Boys” many years ago, at the Apollinaire Theatre In Chelsea, MA, and it was this production that inspired me to direct. Aware of how challenging the script is, I shied away from it and focused on other plays with different difficulties. There are lots of things which could scare a director off of this play, which is what makes it so thrilling.

I finally decided that I had to work on it, an idea that both excited and terrified me.

The joy of working on a text like this is that there are so many options and potential interpretations. There were things I was very certain about from the start. Namely, that Nick isn’t a psychopath and he isn’t evil. I don’t think Adam is entirely innocent either. Other things however, I’ve left open. For example, Nick makes a lot of claims about his parents which could be true, or they could be complete fabrications. Lies are a way of expressing need while hiding fault. This simple act has the potential for so much shame, fear, and pain. For that reason, I think that both options (him lying or telling the truth) each tell a very valid, interesting story and have left it to the audience to decide for themselves.

I think that this script has always bothered me because it highlights our shifting and impermanent identity. If you tell a lie for long enough, you can integrate it into your life so thoroughly that it’s hard to tell if it is still a lie or not. I think the basic core of this play is that we don’t really know what’s real and what isn’t. Even our own emotions can be so easily changed, time and perspective seeming to change so much.

Ultimately, this has been an incredible process, one which I feel very proud of. I attribute that mainly to the hard work and talent of the cast and crew, all of whom have done an exceptional job.