| But as she sinks deeper into dementia, her estranged daughter Angela — separated from her mother for over 20 years — arrives from Toronto, Canada, to care for her and form a healthier bond.
This meeting of a mother and daughter opens up playwright Pizano's varied concerns about aging and memory, memory and identity, family, mothers, and historical memory.
The only 'problem' — in a play which is otherwise well-written, well acted, and well-designed (Daniel Arcé's video work is quite brilliant) — the problem is that setting the play during Colombia's 40-year civil war never achieves focus; and, at play's end, the audience doesn't know any more about Colombian politics and the war than when they first entered. The same could be said for the stories about Jorge, the young Julia, or Angela's life in Canada, or the female Doctor. We don't find out more.
But thankfully, the true focus and anchor of the play is Julia, and Marcia Bennett's remarkably unaffected and natural interpretation of Julia was both emotionally satisfying and a pleasure to behold.
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Carlos-Gonzalez-Vio & Rosa Laborde |
