The Abuelas by Stephanie Alison Walker at Antaeus

 THE ABUELAS BY STEPHANIE ALISON WALKER
​AT ANTAEUS THEATRE COMPANY

CURRENT THEATRE REVIEWS by TRAVIS MICHAEL HOLDER 
THE ABUELAS

"In 1976 when General Jorge Rafael Videla seized the weakened government of Argentina from Isabel Peron under the premise that leftists were threatening their capitalist and, of course, Christian way of life, they called it a war. As Ryan McRee, dramatist for the west coast premiere of Stephanie Alison Walker’s The Abuelas  at Antaeus, mentions in the program: “Historians today refer to it by its proper name: genocide.”
This is without a shadow of a doubt an urgently important message to our country right now as our own virulent administration led by a crass and vulgar monster as potentially dangerous and evil as Videla locks children in cages and attempts to strip us all of the human rights we’ve fought so hard to establish—of course, their causes also thrust upon us in the name of fighting the left and saving Christianity, factors that have been at the center of preserving “righteousness” for the last 2000 years as they destroy our freedoms and our humanity..."

‘The Abuelas’ unpacks repercussions of child kidnapping in Argentina’s Dirty War
  BY ERIC A. GORDON

Antaeus Theatre Company presents the West Coast premiere of Stephanie Alison Walker’s striking new play, The Abuelas (The Grandmothers), seen opening night, Oct. 11. It explores the legacy of that dark period in Argentine history insofar as it affects at least three families who never expected that their own lives would be drawn into the maelstrom of personal truth and identity.
Andi Chapman directs this powerhouse performance of a six-member cast, three of whose women are Argentine themselves.

BWW Review: THE ABUELAS Offer Conflicts & Strong Performances
by Gil Kaan

​​A well-acted ensemble gives THE ABUELAS its relatable humanity. Stephanie Alison Walker has written a unflinching look at realistic, flawed relationships under the most atypical circumstances. THE ABUELAS (THE GRANDMOTHERS) - a follow-up of Walker's THE BWW Review: THE ABUELAS Offer Conflicts & Strong PerformancesMADRES (THE MOTHERS) also deals with the Dirty War in Argentina in the mid-1970s.

"Walker’s play also demands grim attention from Americans who watch a current corrupt government kidnap children from their asylum-seeking parents, putting some in cages, and possibly giving them up for adoption here. These suggestions are a bitter fruit that does not fall far from the tree...
It’s a glorious evening of explored emotions, not to be missed or ignored."

Grandmothers Seeking Justice
By Dale Reynolds