A world premiere play by Melinda Lopez, directed by Daniela Varon.
Feb. 4-28, 2016 at Boston Playwrights' Theatre.
I was a senior at Dartmouth and mad at the world. A member of the Dartmouth Community for Divestment, we built shanty’s on the Green, shut down Parkhurst (Administration Hall) and hung banners from the bell tower at Baker library. My friend was assaulted one night, retaliation by conservative goons we all figured, and the assailant was never found. But we rallied again and marched—we took Back the Night, and it was a truly magical and empowering moment. The whole campus came together, and we lit up the darkness with candles. I remember how hopeful I was to see guys chanting “PEOPLE UNITE! TAKE BACK THE NIGHT.”
But now, I am not so sure. Because there were a lot of questions I didn’t ask. And a lot of holes in the story. And I have always wondered why I didn’t ask those questions, or try to fill in those gaps. And it’s not because of UVA or the other media frenzy stories that invariably fixate on the ‘women lie’ angle. Because there are millions of women who don’t lie. And yet somehow, don’t we always wonder, just for a second, just a little?
Back the Night is a work of fiction.