The play about a dick.

by Aaron Wilton

90 minutes, no intermission. A middle-aged woman, Enid, meets a younger man online for sex. But what starts as a simple rendezvous becomes a darkly comedic exploration of vulnerability, intimacy and empathy. After an unpredictable reaction, things become chaotic for Enid as her life gradually spirals outward. “The play about a dick.” examines themes of communication, guilt, kindness, solitude, gender roles...

90 minutes, no intermission. A middle-aged woman, Enid, meets a younger man online for sex. But what starts as a simple rendezvous becomes a darkly comedic exploration of vulnerability, intimacy and empathy. After an unpredictable reaction, things become chaotic for Enid as her life gradually spirals outward. “The play about a dick.” examines themes of communication, guilt, kindness, solitude, gender roles, human connection, post-truth reality and existential vacuity. It’s also a play about a dick.

“The Play about a Dick may not be what you expect, but you will feel the intense emotions that are examined in this 90-minute production. I found myself laughing uncomfortably from time to time as these deeper subjects are explored and trigger points were pushed...something special...Go see if you are looking for a dark comedy with the emphasis on dark.” -Reno Arts News

“[The play about a dick] is a dark comedy that is extremely humorous...had the audience laughing out loud–and it wasn’t chuckles but hilarity coming from the audience...a Bravo on my rating scale...entertained and smiling when you walked out of the building.” -The Reno Gay Page

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The play about a dick.

Recommended by

  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend: The play about a dick.

    This play is hilarious, but it can also switch to poignant on a dime. It's about a strange ridged (striped?) dick belonging to a man Enid arranges to hook up with through Craigslist, but it's also about silence, truth, and whether or not things happen for a reason. The dialogue just flies, and it's all whip-smart. I was giggling out loud while reading. This would be a fabulous play to experience with an audience, to hear how others are reacting and to join in the laughter - and to see how squirm-inducing some of those pauses become off the page.

    This play is hilarious, but it can also switch to poignant on a dime. It's about a strange ridged (striped?) dick belonging to a man Enid arranges to hook up with through Craigslist, but it's also about silence, truth, and whether or not things happen for a reason. The dialogue just flies, and it's all whip-smart. I was giggling out loud while reading. This would be a fabulous play to experience with an audience, to hear how others are reacting and to join in the laughter - and to see how squirm-inducing some of those pauses become off the page.

  • Jonathan Luskin: The play about a dick.

    This play is both laugh out loud funny and powerfully poignant. Taught scenes and dialogue that cuts like a knife explore existential themes of happiness, secrets, truth, lies, religion, and more. Through twists and turns, I was thoroughly engaged wondering what happened next. It left me with a clear image of the characters digging into each other in their search for connection, answers, and silence.

    This play is both laugh out loud funny and powerfully poignant. Taught scenes and dialogue that cuts like a knife explore existential themes of happiness, secrets, truth, lies, religion, and more. Through twists and turns, I was thoroughly engaged wondering what happened next. It left me with a clear image of the characters digging into each other in their search for connection, answers, and silence.

  • Greg Burdick: The play about a dick.

    This play starts taking crazy unexpected turns very nearly from its inception! What begins as a story examining dating in the digital world, very quickly escalates and shapeshifts into one examining deeply existential themes... is silence golden? Must the truth always hurt? Can anyone really be trusted? What version of ourselves do we present to the world? Should we keep one version all to ourselves? And while Wilton does not treat the subject of suicide lightly in this offbeat and quirky comedy, he manages to find humor in the way those left behind must find their way through it.

    This play starts taking crazy unexpected turns very nearly from its inception! What begins as a story examining dating in the digital world, very quickly escalates and shapeshifts into one examining deeply existential themes... is silence golden? Must the truth always hurt? Can anyone really be trusted? What version of ourselves do we present to the world? Should we keep one version all to ourselves? And while Wilton does not treat the subject of suicide lightly in this offbeat and quirky comedy, he manages to find humor in the way those left behind must find their way through it.

View all 4 recommendations

Character Information

  • Magnus
  • Enid
  • Murray
  • Birdy
  • Duck
  • Margi

Development History

  • Type Reading, Organization The Actors' Reading Collective, Year 2022
  • Type Reading, Organization Symmetry Theatre/TheatreFirst (Berkeley, CA), Year 2017
  • Type Workshop, Organization Symmetry Theatre Company (Berkeley, CA), Year 2016

Production History

  • Type Professional, Organization Good Luck Macbeth, Year 2018
  • Type Professional, Organization Alabaster Cat & Prague Shakespeare Company co-pro (Prague, CZ), Year 2017

Awards

  • Bottle Alley Theatre Script Competition
    Bottle Alley Theatre Company
    Finalist
    2023
  • Panndora's Box Festival of New Works
    Panndora Productions
    Honorable Mention
    2017