Of Darkness (And Light) by Tyler Mathews
Commissioned by Anonymous
Inspired by the confession…
Artist Statement
Writing a play at the end of the world. That’s what this felt like. I’m a firm believer that the meaning a reader brings to a text is the true reading of that text; whatever intentions I had in writing this... are irrelevant. But I’ll use this space to say that this piece emerged from a deep anxiety and frustration and desire for quiet humanism.
There exists in literature a classic end-of-the-world story cliche that goes something like this. Society is upended by a plague, war, or large scale catastrophe that thrusts the protagonist into conflict with the outer world. Inevitably the protagonist meets secondary characters who take them in, falsely promise to help them, and betray their trust. In media like The Last of Us, World War Z, Contagion, story threads all rely on this big reveal: that it is humanity, our own mortal flaws and failings, that was monstrous all along. Not any alien-seeming virus or plague, but us.
This piece felt like an antidote to that cynicism. I wanted to tell a story about trust, about relying on each other, holding each other up. To eschew easy narrative conflict and instead tell a quiet story about a mother letting her guard down and learning to trust again.
Of Darkness (And Light)
by Tyler Mathews