Heading into Capital Stage, I didn’t know what quite to expect of Espejos: Clean outside of two women from completely different worlds sharing the same space. The set was immaculate, with beautiful white sheets perfectly laid out on a bed and a gorgeous pool set up with blue tiles. As the intimate, emotionally layered production began, I knew it was going to be far from what its title evokes.
In Espejos: Clean, worlds collide in one evening at a high-end resort in Mexico, igniting a series of misunderstandings, miscalculations, and internal reckonings. Adriana, the resort floor manager, has worked at the resort for years. As a maid, she diligently worked her way up, ensuring the resort maintained the perfect illusion of “paradise” for the guests. Sarah is a guest staying at the resort for her sister’s wedding. If you looked up the term “hot mess” in the dictionary, Sarah’s face would be next to it. She rolls her eyes throughout the wedding planning process, all while struggling with her own dark secret.
The show is a unique bilingual production where Adriana speaks Spanish and has English subtitles, while Sarah speaks English and has Spanish subtitles. Since they don’t speak each other’s language, most of the play is spoken directly to the audience. They are telling their feelings, experiences, and desires right then and there, giving a rare glimpse into raw, unfiltered moments we don’t often see in theatre. Through these unfiltered moments, we see how the show amplifies and deals with trauma. Adriana struggles with the complicated grief surrounding her abusive father’s death, while Sara wrestles with her own fears, assumptions, and unresolved pain from an abusive teacher. One faithful night, Sarah mistakenly believes Adriana is being attacked after hearing her cries while she is with a man. What begins as confusion and panic quickly evolves into an intense emotional confrontation. This scene is heightened by the language barrier between them, making every misunderstanding feel more frustrating. Through tears, vulnerability, and the awkward use of Google Translate, they slowly begin to understand one another. In this moment of understanding, the show suggests that trauma cannot remain buried forever. Eventually it demands to be acknowledged, and only then can you move toward a sense of healing.
Both Sarita Ocón (Adriana) and Stephanie Altholz (Sarah) were phenomenal. Both women used physical comedy to really make their characters shine and bring some light-hearted moments to a show that deals with heaviness. While the women don’t often speak to each other in the show, the moments they do share bring a special connection. I would almost describe this connection as having a softness to it. It could be just strangers being polite, however I believed they balance each other out by being a mirror (or espejo) to the other.
Espejos: Clean delivers a powerful exploration of trauma, identity, and empathy. By blending emotional vulnerability with moments of tension, humor, and misunderstanding, the play shows two women confronting the pain they have long avoided. Their journey demonstrates that healing is rarely simple or immediate, but it becomes possible when people allow themselves to be understood. Catch the show now through June 7th at Capital Stage. Learn more here.
English
Chinese (Simplified)
Filipino
French
German
Hmong
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Vietnamese
