Boston Playwrights’ Theatre recently presented two world premiere productions for BPT’s Spring Rep Festival.  Boasting some common themes, both are fitting companion pieces though one executes their ideas more fluidly than the other.

Both shows are rooted in preventing disaster and end the way they began with new meaning.  While one travels through time while the other roams through a cosmic plane, both shows are motivated through grief, trauma, and discovery while featuring key twists on the journey.  Both believe that changing their present circumstances will lead to better futures, but facing a world that cannot easily bend to their will.

Fear gives way to strength as one travels through space and the other among the stars.

Boston Playwrights’ Theatre presented the world premiere of Brandon Zang’s Recursion of a Moth alongside Isabelle Fereshteh Sanatdar Stevens’ The Fig Tree, and the Phoenix, and the Desire to Be Reborn for BPT’s Spring Rep Festival through Sunday, March 9 live and in person at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts.  Both shows ran approximately 80 minutes with no intermission.  Click here for more information and for BPT’s future events.

REVIEW:  A sky full of stars, transformation and resilience fuel Isabelle Fereshteh Sanatdar Stevens’ The Fig Tree, and the Phoenix, and the Desire to Be Reborn

In a country entrenched in war, two children meet under a mystical fig tree.  One loves to sleep and the other constantly stands watch.  However, their purpose under this tree unveils in significant ways from what they share to what they face.

Directed by Nikta Sabouri, The Fig Tree,  and the Phoenix, and the Desire to Be Reborn  by Isabelle Sanatdar Stevens is a mythological tale about love, grief, courage in the face of danger, war, loss, and unbreakable bonds.  Minou Pourshariati and Danny Bryck are cosmically and supernaturally connected and that connection is explored meaningfully as transformation takes place around them.

Taking place in August 1988 during the Iran-Iraq War, Danny Bryck as Javeed and Minou Pourshariati meet under a fig tree.  Mandana loves to sleep because she can speak to her late brother in her dreams while Javeed is afraid to sleep because he needs to stand guard to keep his family safe.  For these two children whose bravery is ingrained in fear, they seem to become old souls overnight. 

Skillfully taking on dual roles, Pourshariati and Bryck are adorable as children and revel in their roles sharing each other’s fears, prayers, anger and sadness as they struggle for certainty and to understand what is happening around them.  Irresistibly endearing building a unique bond and vowing to change the world they live in and beyond, inquisitive Mandana and virtuous Javeed instill playfulness, imagination, and joy into these complex performances enhanced by bright and affectionate choreography as they share their creativity, energy and boundless imagination amidst the turmoil.  Sporadically mature in thought and innocent in their approach, they squeal, leap and bounce in a stirring bitter sweetness during a serene interlude in a land where things can change at any moment as light and darkness are in constant battle.

Lighting designer Grant Powicki and scenic design Cleo Brooks work together as twinkling lights, sunshine and glowing lanterns highlight a beautiful tree and wooded residential landscape which is unfurled by a retractable spool.  Shadows give way to surprises and bring to life their shared stories.  Sound designer Arshan Gailus is behind the immersive cosmic and natural harmony of this world.

The production contains a wealth of symbolism enmeshed in stories, objects, conversation and more.  Funny, touching, powerful, and poignant, The Fig Tree,  and the Phoenix, and the Desire to Be Reborn is an affecting and thought provoking journey worth taking.

REVIEW:  Brandon Zang’s The Recursion of a Moth races against time

This is no way to document time. 

Directed thoughtfully by Katie Brook, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre presented Brandon Zang’s sci fi drama The Recursion of a Moth.

It is the 25^th century and a couple of time traveling bureaucrats and ex lovers are sent to document time and find a woman named Chrys for undisclosed reasons.  However, what transpires becomes far and away from what their mission entails into a journey rife with complications.

Lighting designer Grant Powicki enhances Cleo Brooks’s simple black and white scenic design that colorfully depicts various dimensions and planes throughout the production. Fold out compartments depict a living room and kitchen as cast members change the props between scenes. Aubrey Dube’s radiating and moth-inspired clicking divide each scene while subtle and sparkling special effects drive this quantum leaping story.

Alexander Holden depicts resourceful time traveling bureaucrat Icarus heading to the Denver airport, his mysterious motivations behind a trench coat and glasses.  Jaime José Hernández portrays Mikey, a commitment phobic time bureaucrat dedicated to saving his family and completing their current mission.  However, Icarus has gone rogue with his own agenda to his timeline for good.

The Recursion of a Moth explores generational patterns, family, the nature of suffering, and takes some liberties with time travel that becomes a bit too outlandish to be believable even if it would make for a nice story. Holden’s Icarus is obstinate and will stop at nothing to bend time according to his will while Hernández’s reasonable and grounded Mikey cannot help but remind him of time’s known limitations and consequences.  However, Icarus knows far more than he is letting on and longs to change time piece by piece for what may become a better future.

Jenny S. Lee as Chrys, Alexander Holden and Jaime José Hernández all convincingly convey the production’s intensity at the mercy of time.  The moth’s role and recursion theory in this story is particularly fascinating.  Full of twists and quick turns which at times can be confusing, the show may have benefited by a longer runtime for further development of these characters and to give the revelations more breathing room.  The storyline winds into a major plot twist that seems too absurd to be believable even if it makes for a nice story. Recursion of a Moth has its bright spots, but especially under Back to the Future’s Doc Brown’s standards, certain twists would lead to a paradox. 

Boston Playwrights’ Theatre presented the world premiere of Brandon Zang’s Recursion of a Moth alongside the world premiere of Isabelle Fereshteh Sanatdar Stevens’ The Fig Tree, and the Phoenix, and the Desire to Be Reborn for BPT’s Spring Rep Festival through Sunday, March 9 live and in person at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. Click here for more information and for Boston Playwrights’ Theatre’s future events.