A Wild Weekend of Theater

BLACKBIRD
by David Harrower
Stray Cat Theatre
Tempe
Directed by Ron May
Through October 10, 2009
480-820-8022

I spent the greater part of this past weekend seated in three of the Valley’s many theaters, viewing three very different productions. There are usually so many plays being presented at the same time in metropolitan Phoenix that this is often the only way one can get to all of them. So today’s reviews are a trio - one scorching drama, one classic musical and one fabulous comedy/mystery. Take your pick and enjoy!

            After watching two actors (Nina Miller and David Vining) on stage at the Tempe Performing Arts Center in this incredibly intense and dynamic show, I left with one insistent question on my mind. Why did author David Harrower call his play BLACKBIRD? There was no connection I could find in the script, yet the question bugged me all night. Was it reminiscent of the dark bird of fate that Edgar Allen Poe immortalized? Was it a Biblical reference to the bird with a penchant for plucking out the eyes of sinners (and indeed, the male character Ray, played by Vining, does complain about his eyes hurting him)? It was not until I checked on the Internet the next day that I discovered “blackbird” is the term used in England for a “jailbird”. How appropriate for this story of a 40 year old man who had what he considered a consensual affair with a 12 year old girl many years ago, to which he confessed and for which he was sent to prison, and which now has come back to haunt him!

            If this sounds a little far fetched and convoluted, it is, but it is also a story ripped from the headlines in England a few years ago so it does indeed have veracity. Una, now in her late 20’s, has been driven after 15 years to find the man she once loved in order to discover why he left her alone when she was so in love with him. Ray has, of course , been punished for his crime of statutory rape, no matter how much it was consensual and has changed his name, moved,  and carved out a new life with a woman his own age. Their meeting is explosive for many reasons and is set symbolically in the lunch room of the company where Ray now works, which is strewn with the detritus of slovenly workers who leave their garbage all over. And it is the garbage of their lives which Ray and Una now dredge up as they realize that who they are now has been indelibly colored by what they did many years ago. After physically and mentally accosting each other with their guilts and accusations, they fall in to each other’s arms about to rekindle the flame which has never been totally extinguished for either one of them – until Ray brings himself back to reality. In a gesture which is almost too symbolic for the realistic setting in which they are standing, they sweep aside the garbage of the room (and their lives) but to no avail. It is too late as the entrance of a surprise character underscores an ending which I shall not reveal.  We are never quite sure during this battle of two souls who is more guilty and who is more the victim. It is a thought provoking look at a bizarre situation which is all the more excruciating because it was taken from reality.

            I only wish that the quality of the acting in the Stray Cat production were equal to the quality of Harrower’s script and premise. While Vining showed some fine moments (especially while listening and reacting to a very long monologue where Una tells her side of the story), Miller did not convey the total anguish and hopelessness of her character enough to move me as I should have been moved. In fact there were times when I found her delivery quite dull. And Harrower’s staccato dialogue throughout the play seemed to be a little out of her reach as well, although Vining did well with it.  The play was well directed by Ron May who staged a brilliant onstage fight. However, the scene where each tore off the other’s clothes left something to be desired. The actors seemed ill at ease and the abruptly ended sexual act was lacking in veracity. (I can compare this to a very similar scene in ACCOMPLICE which I saw the next day at another theater. In that instance the intercourse was carried out as the couple was wrapped in a large shawl so that all you could see were the underclothes which they threw on the floor yet you knew exactly what they were supposed to be doing. Sometimes, suggestion is far stronger than reality!)

            At any rate, BLACKBIRD (whatever vision the author had when he chose that name) is a brilliant prizewinning play delivered in a somewhat disapppionting production. You can decide whether that is a good enough description to entice you to see it.