Read the full article by Patti Roberts at Sacramento News & Review
What is once seen can never be unseen. That is the sage advice and warning a departing war correspondent gives to Mia, the young photographer taking her place.
In “Unseen,” now playing at Capital Stage, we witness Mia’s trials and tribulations of covering wars, and the toll they’ve taken on her psyche and her relationships.
“Unseen” also explores how the photos of combat and destruction affect the people whose lives and deaths are on display, as well as what our responsibility is to view the truth about the brutality of war.
We’re introduced to Mia (Brittni Barger) as she’s being cared for in the Istanbul apartment of her “on-again, off-again” Turkish girlfriend Derya (Rasha Zamamiri). Mia doesn’t remember the battle she was covering that left her unconscious, and her amnesia makes her anxious and frustrated.
Mia’s mother, Jane (Jamie Jones), arrives to help with Mia’s recovery and brings her sweet, well-meaning California wokeness. She also witnesses the tense relationship between Mia and Derya and tries to support both.
The timeline jumps back and forth from the current day and the various conflicts Mia has covered, including her interactions with those she captures on film. Her wartime photography includes combat, death and the destruction of Gaza and Syria.