‘Kindertransport’ is complex tale of mom-daughter relationships

A stunning performance by an accomplished young actress, Hannah Ryan, stands out among a powerhouse cast in a piercing “Kindertransport.”

Mustard Seed Theatre’s intense production of Diane Samuels’ 1992 play explores complicated mother and daughter relationships during Nazi Germany and later in England.

Ryan begins Eva’s journey at age 9, when her Jewish mother Helga (Ryan’s real-life mother, Kelley Weber), prepares her to leave the country for safe haven in England. Weber makes the emotional sacrifice heartfelt.

The Kindertransport began in 1938 after the Movement for the Care of Children from Germany was formed. The British government took in unaccompanied young refugees on temporary travel visas. Nearly 10,000 children from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland were rescued before WWII began.

A starchy but kind Lil (Kirsten De Broux) lovingly raises Eva. Shown at 17, Ryan has convinced us every step of the way, growing into a newly christened Evelyn, adopted and baptized, and at home in Manchester.

De Broux is a steady, calming influence, never letting her emotions get out of hand in fretful situations.

After several earlier frantic, unsuccessful attempts to reunite with her parents, Eva turned her back on her German and Jewish heritage. We find out later that her father died at Auschwitz.

Cut to modern day. Evelyn is a divorced mother fussing over her only daughter, Faith (Katy Keating), moving out. After discovering an old box of letters and documents exposing her mother’s secret, Faith is shattered.

As the grown-up Evelyn, Michelle Hand smoothly displays the typical behavior of an ordinary Mum, but subtly peels off layers to reveal her traumatic past and old wounds re-opened.

As the schoolgirl yanked from the only life she knew, Ryan capably conveys a sense of abandonment, and the challenges of adapting to a different language and customs, even though she was secure. Those feelings are later resurrected masterfully by Hand as the grown-up who has buried the former damaged child inside.

How we survive and cope under times of great duress becomes a major theme of this drama.

Samuels interviewed survivors and family members to compose these characters, who are real, flawed and compelling.

Brian J. Rolf excels as several supporting roles, quickly establishing identity through vocal cadences and body language.

Voice coach Nancy Bell helped the actors master either Mancunian, the dialect of Manchester, England, or fluidly speak German, or both, so that each character sounded authentic.

Director Deanna Jent has made the transitions between then-and-now time periods understandable.

While the play takes a while to explain who the characters are in relation to each other, once the drama intensifies and conflicts emerge, the cast develops stronger identities and motivations.

Often, the teenage daughter is whiny and selfish, and when histrionic, Faith seems the weakest plot device, although Keating brings a youthful energy to the role.

The playwright’s use of a horror-tinged children’s story, “The Ratcatcher,” which resembles the Pied Piper of Hamlin, seems contrived, and is unnecessarily repetitive, coming across as a heavy-handed metaphor.

Production work is first-rate, with Kyra Bishop’s efficient set design functional as train stations, piers, attics and home settings. The sound design by Zoe Sullivan helps differentiate the settings, too, and amplifies the frightening Ratcatcher book character. Jane Sullivan’s costume design interprets each time period and character’s age appropriately.

“Kindertransport” shows how international efforts saved youngsters’ lives at a dangerous time, but also points out the aftermath ripples in those rescued lives. And this stellar cast makes it believable and moving.

This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 2:52 PM with the headline "‘Kindertransport’ is complex tale of mom-daughter relationships."