I’m always wary when you get a synopsis of a play because it means that you won’t understand it otherwise. That’s okay when you need historical background (such as the tortured past of the English War of the Roses) or you’re not expected to understand the language as in so many operas. Yet “Encounter,” the production at the David Henry Hwang Theatre that is a joint production of East West Players and the Navarasa Dance Theater, is modern and in English.

The play is based on a short story by award-winning writer Mahasweta Devi. The story centers on Dopdi, an indigenous woman. Dopdi, a farm worker,  is captured by the military along with her husband Dulna Majhi. They are members of the Adivasi Survival Movement and they are entertainers who sing and dance while passing secret messages between villages. From her, we go back into the past where Dopdi is with farmers who are harvesting crops. They hear sounds and know that the military troops are approaching.

Then we meet the military who seek Dopdi and her husband in order to find and destroy the movement.

The dialogue isn’t as interesting as the dance movement and while the movement and choreography does express the distress and fear of the workers, much of the tension is deflated by the awkward transitions between the scenes. There are moments of lovely dance, but some of the staging is repetitive and not all of the dancers are of equal talent.

Written by Aparna Sindhoor, S.M. Raju and Anil Natyaveda, “Encounter” is directed and choreographed by Sindhoor and Natyaveda. Perhaps there needs to be a more critical eye to help shape and edit this piece.

“Encounter” opened on Sept. 13 and continues this weekend, ending Oct. 7 at the David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center for the Arts, 120 Judge John Aiso Street, Los Angeles in Little Tokyo. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. and Sunday, 2 p.m. $26-$36. For more info call (213) 625-7000 or visit the website.