Unseen is no comedy. I wrote the play to “catalyze conversation,” says playwright Mona Mansour in the short opening monologue.

The 90-minute play is about conflict photographer Mia (Katie Kleiger)and how she and her family work through the physical and mental dangers of her work. When we learn about Mia, we also learn about the people she photographs including the feelings and opinions those caught up in conflict she photographs and leaves behind.

This setting sets up the opportunity for Emily Townley (as a “other” character) to deliver one of the show’s best performances as a surviving mother who questions Mia’s intentions while looking for answers to her loss. In another scene, another woman in a war zone delivers one of Mansour’s most memorable lines: “Take Me God, I’m sick of waiting.”

However, during most of the performance, Townley adroitly plays as understanding mother and helps her daughter find answers to the ambivalence of being so close to danger, but not directly part of the solution.

The play is set in Istanbul, Turkey with the music, lighting fixtures and surprisingly Mia’s on and off girlfriend, Derya, helping to set the mode. Though I have no clue what a Turkish accent sounds like, Dina Solten as Derya was convincing.

Unseen doesn’t end like a comedy. The audience wasn’t cheering and laughing. I went home having seen the unseen. I think I am a more emphatic person because of it.