From left: Arthur Gomez and David J. Castillo; photo by Benjamin Rose Photography.
Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company
By Eboni Booth
Directed by Dawn M Simmons
Sep 12 – Oct 11, 2025
Calderwood Pavilion
Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA
Critique by Kitty Drexel
Neurospicy [adjective | nur-oh-SPYCE-ee]: A playful substitute for ‘neurodiverse’ or ‘neurodivergent.’ Via Merriam-Webster.com
BOSTON — Currently running at the Boston Center for the Arts, SpeakEasy Stage presents Primary Trust by Eboni Booth. The full script of Primary Trust appeared in the Spring 2024 print issue of American Theatre magazine. The play won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2024. It premiered at Roundabout Theatre Company in Spring 2023 and was produced locally by Barrington Stage in Pittsfield, MA during the company’s 2024/2025 season. Now it’s in Boston, and we’re glad to see it in the hands of the most capable staff, cast and crew of SpeakEasy Stage.
Kenneth (David J Castillo) works at a bookstore and spends his evenings at Wally’s, the local tiki bar, with his best friend Bert (Arthur Gomez) drinking Mai Tais. After Kenneth’s boss Sam, (Luis Negrón, whether playing a curmudgeonly or a beneficent work Dad, he’s always sympathetic), lays off Kenneth from the bookstore where he’s worked for 20 years, he meets waitress Corrina (Janelle Grace, switching characters and voices like a chameleon does colors) at Wally’s. Suddenly, Kenneth’s carefully ordered world is opened up to new friendships and new experiences.
Primary Trust is similar to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Simon Stephens; we’re introduced to a quirky, lonely guy who views the world through a unique lens. Kenneth is sweet but deeply anxious. He displays habits and may or may not be on the autism spectrum. We don’t know. Playwright Eboni Booth doesn’t tell us. But we do know the U.S. doesn’t have universal healthcare. And it can take years to diagnose mental health conditions even with private insurance. So, without being told, we can’t know for certain how neurospicy Kenneth is or what flavor, but Simmons and Castillo show us clues.
As soon as Castillo hits the stage in character, we’re struck by Kenneth’s stance: Castillo curves his upper back; his arms stick to his sides; his hands are fisted and moving in repetitive, nervous patterns. Kenneth is not a confident man. His slight stammer tells us he’s uncomfortable speaking in new social exchanges. His posture tells us he wants to evade public perception. Castillo’s transformation into Kenneth is so complete that we don’t recognize him from his headshot.
Conversely, Gomez as Bert is warm, socially perceptive, and exudes confidence. If Kenneth is an introvert who leaves home only under duress, then Bert is a consummate extrovert who thrives on meeting new people. Bert is Kenneth’s reason for leaving home. Bert functions as Kenneth’s emotional regulator and therapeutic support human. Castillo and Gomez’s characterizations complement each other as friends and foils.
Primary Trust asks its audience to empathize with Kenneth as he faces alarming new experiences without a support system. His adventures might seem commonplace to many of us, but to him they are unnerving changes uprooting his entire life. Change is scary without a community to support us through it. Fortunately, Kenneth discovers a compassionate community ready to receive him when he looks for it. In this political climate, some folks consider empathy a sin. Empathy calls us to care for people who are different, to develop friendships, and to find value in others outside their contributions to capitalism. If empathy is a sin and sinning is winning, let’s all win together.
It’s deeply satisfying to see local actors and creators rise through the ranks to become theatre community leaders on and off the stage. Break every leg, friends.
