In a shocker of an opening scene, Daniel takes a large knife from the kitchen and prepares to slice off his ear.
Blackout.
It’s a heart-stopping way to begin a play — even more so since Daniel is just 8 years old. Why would he do such a thing? Sadly the answer isn’t as satisfying as the question in the off-Broadway drama “Our New Girl.”
Irish playwright Nancy Harris is tackling a tricky subject: motherhood and the maternal instinct, as filtered through the relationship between the high-strung Hazel (Atlantic Theater Company stalwart Mary McCann) and her withdrawn son, Daniel (the spooky Henry Kelemen).
Hazel is hanging by a thread: Hugely pregnant with her second child, she’s also juggling a new business venture and an absentee plastic-surgeon husband, Richard (CJ Wilson). Richard’s idea of support is to hire an Irish nanny, Annie (Lisa Joyce), without even informing his wife.
Things tense up between everybody involved but especially Hazel and Daniel, who at times acts like Damien, the Antichrist of “The Omen.” It’s unclear whether she’s just stressed-out or if he’s a budding sociopath.
The play itself is provocative and often smart: The presence of Annie, a less fortunate sort in an upper-middle-class household, adds a layer of class resentment. But Gaye Taylor Upchurch’s clunky production and the journeyman acting undermine the text every step of the way. Growing up may be hard to do, but it shouldn’t be so dull.