Under the Mango Tree: An emotional story of a daughter's hope to reunite and embrace her father.

The story flows naturally and transplants the audience member into the life of a girl named Timal (Veenesh Dubois). Taking place in Fiji, Veenesh's characters are well defined, having a lot of depth from her culture, which are strongly embedded within them.

We essentially grow up with this girl from a small village and see the love for her father span years without falter as she clings on to the letters that he sends. This sweet tale is a journey filled with multiple levels of emotions from childlike delight to heart wrenching awareness.

Many people will relate to the story on different levels. There is first and foremost the story of a girl and her love for her father. There is a level that deals with the disconnection or loss of a family member due to migration from one country to another, which propells the story. Also, if you come from that part of the world there is some language, music and dance that will give you a special type of satisfaction in watching this production. People who have immigrated from other parts of the globe can identify the experiences, understand the undertones of being somewhere else, hearing about a place that is almost a different universe and trying to imagine what it is like.

I recognize the character's notion of awe due to similar stories told from my parents who have migrated from different parts of the world and listening to their tales about their journeys from their homeland.

Much of the story is true even though it is a semi-autobiographical tale. The emotional aspect of the girl character Timal at times is so strong it does seem that Veenesh is reliving moments in her life.

I am trying to find some fault or weakness in this production and have not found any. The only thing that would come close would be my not understanding of the native language that Veenesh's characters sparingly speaks during the show. However because of her strong performance it doesn't register at all as a negative, instead it adds to the whole cultural expeience and the environment she paints for you.

I recommend this show to everyone because it is an excellent peformance layered with feelings and a wonderful journey.