At a lean 80 minutes with no intermission, Ironbound is a four-character play depicting twenty-two years in the life of a Polish immigrant, Darja, played by Marin Ireland. (Ireland was recently seen in Hell or High Water.) Ironbound begins previews this week at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood.
Playwright Martyna Majok used her own mother as the inspiration for Darja. She was inspired by their immigration from Poland to Newark and finding themselves in a neighborhood filled with immigrants working in factories, construction sites and cleaning houses.
The action takes place in 2014, 1992, and 2006 – not necessarily in that order.
Ironbound also stars Josiah Bania, Christian Camargo and Marcel Spears. Directing the play is Tyne Rafaeli. The play posits the idea that sometimes survival is the best form of success.