Silver Spring Stage Presents BLACKBIRD, 1/7-29

Silver Spring Stage presents Blackbird by David Harrower, directed by Craig Allen Mummey, a tale about the cost of temptation and redemption where two people who once had an inappropriate affair meet again fifteen years later to face the truth and the consequences of their past indiscretion. Blackbird will perform weekends January 7 to January 29. Please note that Blackbird contains mature subject matter and language.

Silver Spring Stage is located in the Woodmoor Shopping Center, lower level (next to the CVS) at Colesville Road and University Boulevard. Ticket prices are $20 for adults and $18 for seniors/students. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8:00 PM, Sundays on January 16 and 23 at 2:00 PM. Tickets can be purchased at www.ssstage.org. Information is also available by calling (301) 593-6036.

 Blackbird does not pose easy questions about the nature of love, pedophilia and reformation. Scottish playwright Harrower exposes these themes in a brilliant, disturbing, suspenseful and emotionally wringing 90 minutes leaving audiences to discern their own answers. Blackbird premiered in 2005 at the Edinburgh International Festival, inspired by real events. Toby Studebaker was a former U.S. Marine who abducted a 12-year-old British girl in 2003 after seducing her on the Internet and was jailed for four and a half years. "Blackbird" is British slang for "jailbird". The play won the 2007 Olivier Award for Best New Play. In Blackbird, Harrower invents the reunion of the older man and young woman. Metaphorically, the two are broken birds, psychologically crippled by the illicit romance years earlier. Both experienced jail, him literally and her imprisoned by her fears and humiliation. The man has created a new life with new name and city. The woman still trapped in her past seeks retribution or recovery. Harrower has captured this tension in a fractured syntax, half-complete sentences, stuttering repetitions, and breaks in conversation into a stark, stylized, nerve-jangling poetry. He said: "The form kind of mirrors the uncertainty of people circling around each other." Blackbird spins anger, affection, seduction and suffering in a cathartic and heartbreaking story.

At his workplace, 55-year-old Ray (Ted Culler) is shocked to be visited by a young woman, 27-year-old Una (Lenora Spahn). Fifteen years earlier, when Una was only 12, the two had a sexual affair, for which Ray was arrested and imprisoned. After his release, he moved to another city, changed his name and has managed to establish a reasonably successful new life, but Una recognized him in a photograph and tracked him down. Ray takes Una to the office break room, where the two engage in a long and difficult confrontation involving Una's continuing struggles to understand and come to terms with the affair and her intensely conflicting emotions. The two revive memories, exchange accusations and struggle to settle the nature of their relationship and what happens next in their lives. Blackbird is a powerful revelation of raw human experience that will leave audiences with an indelible memory.

The cast also includes Laura Rogers as Girl. The production team includes Craig Allen Mummey (Set Design), Kevin Garrett (Sound Design), Chris Curtis (Light Design) and Nicole Jaja (Master Carpenter).

The Stage's 2010-2011 season continues with the passionate Romeo and Juliet (Feb. 18-Mar. 12), hilarious The Farndale Macbeth (Feb. 1-Feb. 23), elegant Three Days of Rain (May 13-Jun. 4), and exciting One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Jun. 24-July 23).

Silver Spring Stage has provided quality, affordable theatre for over 40 years. We are an all-volunteer, non- profit organization and appreciate any contribution to enable us to offer excellent and entertaining productions. Thank you for your interest and support of Silver Spring Stage. All programs at Silver Spring Stage are made possible in part by grants from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and the Maryland State Arts Council.
Website: http://www.ssstage.org

 

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