If “Shiv” doesn’t seem at first like the sharpest knife in the theatrical drawer, cut it some slack—patience and close attention are rewarded in this subtly-crafted portrait of a Hindu immigrant girl’s coming-of-age in her new American homeland.
Playwright Aditi Brennan Kapil foregoes linear narrative to shape apparently unrelated fragments into a poetic, often humorous and ultimately profound meditation on such far-flung topics as cultural assimilation, kite-flying, colonialism, literary publishing, adultery, and “Star Trek.”
A fine staging by Emilie Beck for The Theatre @ Boston Court inventively connects the parallel everyday and metaphysical realms in which the play maneuvers.