The Madres 

Reviewed by Neal Weaver 
Skylight Theatre 
Through April 29  

RECOMMENDED 

Stephanie Alison Walker’s stirring drama is set in Buenos Aires in the 1980s, when Argentina was ruled by a ruthless military junta. Anyone who spoke out against the regime could be taken into custody and “disappeared,” and even those who privately disagreed with the government and its policies were in danger and subject to constant scrutiny by an extensive network of spies and informers.

There was no governmental acknowledgement of the Desaparecidos (the Disappeared), and the women who tried to speak out about their missing children were mocked as crazies and disbelieved. Nobody wanted to believe them or acknowledge that the government would do such a thing.  The Madres were a group of mothers who began an organized resistance, employing white head scarves as a symbol of their protests, and marching every Thursday night in front of the Casa Rosada, the Argentinian White House.

Walker’s play is centered largely on one woman, Josefina Acosta (Margarita Lamas) whose granddaughter Belen (Natalie Llerena) is among the disappeared. The family clings to the fiction that she is living in Paris with her husband and pregnant with their first child. The girl’s mother, Carolina Acosta (Arianna Ortiz) is a militant who has joined the Madres on their Thursday marches, but Josefina is deeply conservative, and believes they must at least pretend to support the regime, to preserve their own safety and that of Belen. And she strongly objects to Carolina’s marching with the Madres.

But her convictions are being steadily worn down by events and the seeming betrayals of those around her. The well-meaning but equivocating priest Padre Julian urges conformity and going along to get along. And her former neighbor, Diego (Alexander Pimentel), who was enamored of Belen till she rejected him, has become a fanatical supporter of the repressive regime, and seems willing to use his power to wreak his revenge on Belen and her husband.

This is essentially a story of the radicalization of a far-from-radical woman, and as such calls to mind Bertolt Brecht’s The Rifles of Senora Carrar, also about a mother who is finally driven to revolt. And it is beautifully acted by Lamas, in a splendidly subtle and deeply nuanced performance.

Walker’s play begins in a fairly conventional way but builds up a strong head of steam as it progresses, culminating in in a harrowing, gut-wrenching climax at the shower for Belen’s expected baby. And director Sara Guerrero has assembled an exemplary cast. Ortiz creates an indelible portrait of a woman passionately attempting to protect her child, while as Diego Pimentel is impressive as a smug, hateful true believer.

Christopher Scott Murillo created the handsome set.

Skylight Theatre Company, 1816-1/2 N. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles. Fri.-Sat., 8:30 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; Mon., 8 p.m. (213) 761-7061(213) 761-7061 or https://SkylightTix.com. Running time: One hour and 50 minutes with one 10-minute intermission.