The Last Month of William Joseph Dale

by Aurin Squire

I went out on my first date with William Dale on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2018. We had a few in-person encounters and a few text/phone conversations. And then he was dead. He slipped or fell or jumped. It was late night, probably 3 or 4am on March 16th, 2018. I was in his phone so I was contacted by his friends. They assumed Will and were close, but we were not. Yet I felt haunted by such a brief exchange...

I went out on my first date with William Dale on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2018. We had a few in-person encounters and a few text/phone conversations. And then he was dead. He slipped or fell or jumped. It was late night, probably 3 or 4am on March 16th, 2018. I was in his phone so I was contacted by his friends. They assumed Will and were close, but we were not. Yet I felt haunted by such a brief exchange at the end of someone’s life. I felt disturbed by Will’s presence, his enthusiasm and zest, but also his flakiness, past issues with drug abuse, wild party nature, and then his disappearance. I am trying to make sense of this. How do you mourn for someone who you were just starting to know?

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The Last Month of William Joseph Dale

Recommended by

  • Cheryl Bear: The Last Month of William Joseph Dale by Aurin Squire
    “

    An exceptional piece with all the raw and beautiful emotions, the fragility of the human existence and the connections we form. Fantastic work!

    An exceptional piece with all the raw and beautiful emotions, the fragility of the human existence and the connections we form. Fantastic work!

    ”
  • Jessica Austgen: The Last Month of William Joseph Dale by Aurin Squire
    “

    A lovely two-hander about new love and the flurry of emotions that accompany it—excitement, frustration, joy, anxiousness—made all the more poignant by the knowledge that one half of this couple is doomed from the start. Squire’s play dances through the first/last days if this relationship with delicate dialogue, complex characters and a sad sense of longing for the unfulfilled potential of a love affair that was never allowed to fully bloom.

    A lovely two-hander about new love and the flurry of emotions that accompany it—excitement, frustration, joy, anxiousness—made all the more poignant by the knowledge that one half of this couple is doomed from the start. Squire’s play dances through the first/last days if this relationship with delicate dialogue, complex characters and a sad sense of longing for the unfulfilled potential of a love affair that was never allowed to fully bloom.

    ”
  • Emily Hageman: The Last Month of William Joseph Dale by Aurin Squire
    “

    This is an absolutely remarkable play. Squire is an unbelievably gifted playwright. Deeply felt, raw, emotional, funny, real, beautiful, artistic, impossible to understand--just like life. One of my favorite ten minute plays I've ever read.

    This is an absolutely remarkable play. Squire is an unbelievably gifted playwright. Deeply felt, raw, emotional, funny, real, beautiful, artistic, impossible to understand--just like life. One of my favorite ten minute plays I've ever read.

    ”
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