On local stages, female protagonists challenge male assumptions - Arts

The female protagonists of “Photograph 51,’’ “Wild Swans,’’ “Medea,’’ and “Time Stands Still’’ have one thing that unites them across the eras: Each of them takes actions that thwart the expectations of the men in their lives. All four productions have arrived in Boston-area theaters at a political moment when traditional male authority seems to be looking for opportunities to reassert itself.