New Jersey Stage 2017: Issue 9 | Page 82

Mara plays the eponymous Una, a 28 year old who at the tender age of 13, entered into a sexual relationship with an adult neigh- bor, Ray (Ben Mendelsohn), the latter subsequently serving four years behind bars when his ac- tions were discovered. Fifteen years later, Una tracks down Ray, now going under the name ‘Pe- ter’, and confronts him at his cur- rent workplace. Initially, Ray assumes Una has come looking for revenge, pull- ing her handbag out of her hands in fear it contains a pistol or some other weapon. It soon becomes apparent however that Una’s anger at Ray stems not from his physical abuse, but at the fact that he walked away from her. As outrageous as it may seem, Ray is still the love of Una’s life, and she hopes to pick up where they left off. I can’t speak for Harrower’s play, but the film he has fash- ioned as a scriptwriter suggests he has scant interest in anything other than exploiting a shock- Watch the trailer for Una NJ STAGE 2017 - Vol. 4 No. 9 INDEX NEXT ARTICLE 82