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"Blackbird" review

May 8th 7pm & May 9th 2pm performances


by Amy Pawlosky

May 17, 2007


Thank you, Amy! :-)



"Blackbird," by David Harrower, is a play that deals with the relationship 15 years prior between a 40 year old man and his 12 year old neighbor girl.   The play takes place in a non-descript break room in a warehouse facility in England.  Steven stars as Peter/Ray (now 55) and Jessi Campbell stars as Una (now 27).

"Blackbird" is a demanding play for the actors: 80 minutes with no scene changes, intermission or time off-stage.  Steven has moments where he leaves the stage only to return seconds later.  Jessi is onstage the entire time.

It is a show of exposure, struggle, negotiation, power shifts, lies and truth.  The audience is taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotion.  We get a glimpse into the reunion of two people who haven't seen each other in 15 years – and the parting back then was not such sweet-sorrow.  We are there when they exchange their first words – we see the emotional conflict within each of them as they attempt to sort out the past and determine the future.

This is a tricky play to promote – an audience member who comes knowing only the basic premise of the show is in for an extremely powerful experience.  However, they must be open-minded and able to see beyond a very uncomfortable and hot-button issue to see and become involved with the people behind it.  "Blackbird" is ultimately about the repercussions of an event 15 years prior and how the lives of these two people (Una and Ray) have been impacted forever.   As much as it would comfort the audience, there is no black & white in this piece.  The audience is constantly being asked to reserve judgment as each character presents his and her side of the story.  Each one had some responsibility in the events – or did they? Is Ray entirely responsible because he was the "adult"?  Does she not have some culpability due to her "suspiciously adult leanings"?  When does the law supersede personal desires and consensual behaviors? Is someone, at 12 years of age, capable of making adult decisions regarding relationships or must ALL minors be protected by a blanket law?  These are only a few of the issues the actors and director had to face when working with the script.  I believe they were ultimately successful.

The show begins with a heightened energy most plays achieve at their climax.  We are immediately thrust into their conflict. There are moments of relief and places for a few chuckles and to catch a breath, but for the most part we are captivated by the events happening onstage.  It is difficult to look away.

Jessi and Steven each do a marvelous job dealing with the sensitive material, the choppy & realistically-written adult dialogue, and the British accents.  There was some discussion at one of the post-show audience exchanges that the accents weren't authentic – that there isn't a "generic British accent".  Had they been authentic, however, we would have had a difficult time understanding the words.  I'd only heard Steven do a British accent once, and only for a few lines, but he made it so convincing that it felt natural in no time.   The accent was convincing to me – and I'm accustomed to hearing such British gentlemen as Colin Firth, Kenneth Branagh and Justin Hayward (of the Moody Blues).  Steven's Ray would fit right into that group – at least to this reviewer's ear. 

Due to the subject matter of the show, I suspect Steven and Jessi had to have quite a bit of trust in each other to appear so convincing onstage.  Sexual acts are described, sometimes in detail and adult language.  The blocking (location of an actor onstage) of certain scenes left Ray front-and-center to the audience while discussing a personal experience as proof that he wasn't immediately sexually attracted to Una the day they met.  Please note that there was never any nudity in the show, only explicit language necessary to work out the issues at hand.

Each actor has a powerful monologue recounting their version of the night 15 years ago that they last saw each other.  Jessi was fantastic in relating her story – she made it feel so real by varying the vocal and emotional levels – from yelling with frustration and crying in the depths of sorrow, to quiet resignation that her life had just been determined by that night.  She was facing away from Ray for most of it, relating the truth of her experience.  Haven't we all had things to say to another when it's easier to say without looking directly at them?  This felt so real to me.  Steven at this time is riveted to her – his eyes not moving from her.  He was so in tune to her that he was near tears at her pain.   As a very amateur actor, I'm always looking at the whole stage – all the actors whether they are speaking or not, to see their reactions to the speaker.  Acting is about reacting and this includes being "there" for your costars when they are the focus.

Ray's focus on Una motivates his telling of that fateful night – he matches her intensity and tries emphatically (and I think successfully) to convince her that he didn't intend to leave her for good.  The recounting of this event is a turning point in their present relationship- he approaches her with great tenderness and love… crying to her his regret of how things turned out. The conversation resumes as they discuss their daily lives as old friends would when catching up after years apart.

Jessi does a wonderful job of walking the line between the adult that she is and, when around & loving Ray, reverting to mannerisms for a twelve-year-old.  When she isn't fighting or seducing him, we can see her as that twelve-year-old and that she still hasn't emotionally matured.

Steven makes it very difficult for us to get a grasp on this man.  Of course he's concerned when this woman walks into his work unexpectedly (I personally think he knows who she is at the outset even though he doesn't let on).  He tells his side of the events so passionately it is difficult to tell if Peter/Ray is being entirely truthful or not.   This, I think, is very appropriate for this play.  He does a terrific job at expressing his nervousness, fear, frustration, sorrow, lust and, dare I say it – love.  He ultimately made me like and believe Ray – until the end of the show when the "twist" occurs.  Even then, I so wanted to believe him that I made my own choice to see them in a proper light.

This is the first time I've seen Steven in a theatrical setting and – WOW – what a show to start with.  It had all the depth, emotion, drama and ambiguousness that I could ever want.  I appreciate plays that leave issues open to interpretation.  I find them fascinating and so much fun to wrap my mind around.  I saw two performances of this show a week ago and all I could say after both was WOW.  It has been swirling around my mind since then – piecing points together and reviewing what happened.  Only now am I able to approach putting together coherent thought about the show.  I live in the Midwest United States and we produce/see/sponsor very conservative shows around here.  It was very refreshing and exciting to see this contemporary drama with themes that wouldn't be touched around here.  This is one show that will be on my mind and in my memory for some time.  Isn't that the point of theatre? Reminds me of a quote I heard once:  "TV is furniture, Film is art, Theatre is life."  This show is LIFE – messy, unpredictable, uncontrollable and a fantastic ride.

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