This week, we cover performances about family with local productions of “A Brimful of Asha” and “The Pink Unicorn.” Plus, a review of “The Father” starring Academy Award winners Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman.
“A Brimful of Asha,” presented virtually by ArtsEmerson through March 22
Discover a real-life mother and son story presented by ArtsEmerson in “A Brimful of Asha.” The play is written and acted by Why Not Theatre’s Ravi Jain, and co-stars his own mother, Asha, in a heartfelt and hilarious retelling of a real family trip to India. Cultural and generational divides are humorously dissected when Ravi is subject to his parents’ desire to see him settled and married to a woman largely of their choosing.
“It's a human story,” says ArtsEmerson Executive Director David Howse. “We've all been across the dinner table with family members who are trying to get us to go in the right direction, their thoughts of what the right direction is.”
WATCH: GBH News Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen discusses "A Brimful of Asha" on Morning Edition with host Joe Mathieu.
“The Pink Unicorn” presented virtually by SpeakEasy Stage Company through March 18
SpeakEasy Stage Company presents a one-woman virtual production of Elise Forier Edie’s “The Pink Unicorn.” Here we find Trisha Lee (Stacy Fischer), a mother in conservative Sparkton, Texas where there are American flags, white picket fences and religion in abundance. But her tolerance and understanding are put to the test when her teenager, Jolene, comes out as genderqueer. Jo’s attempts to form a Gay Straight Alliance at school combined with Trisha Lee’s unapologetic acceptance and support set the conservative community mindset ablaze.
“Stacy Fisher is marvelous and fully absorbing in a production very skillfully directed by M. Bevin O’Gara,” says Bowen. “But the arc of Trisha Lee’s acceptance in the face of a largely unforgiving community begs for more nuance.”
WATCH: Bowen discusses "The Pink Unicorn" on Morning Edition with Joe Mathieu.
“The Father,” in select theaters now
Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman deliver masterful performances in the Sony Pictures film The Father. The movie centers on Anthony, an 80-year-old man contending with dementia. The rare film to dive deeply and entirely into the afflicted protagonist’s point of view, The Father is an exquisite and heartbreaking exploration of mental faltering —without being treacle. Tautly directed by Florian Zeller (who adapted the work from his own stage play), the film skillfully makes Anthony’s confusion our own as characters, time and even furniture transform in deeply unsettling ways.
“The Father is intricately filmed, plotted and written,” says Jared. “And in a mesmerizing interplay between Hopkins and Colman, we find a situation fraught with panic, frustration and sweetness that go a long way into giving us an understanding of how people with dementia process their fading world.”
WATCH: The Father trailer.
Do you see your family reflected in any of these performances? Tell Jared about it on Facebook or Twitter!
