Review: BLACKBIRD at Dirt Dogs Theatre Co.
A searing duet of abuse and misplaced love .
BLACKBIRD by Scottish playwright David Harrower is the kind of edgy stuff I would naturally associate with the Dirt Dogs company in Houston. They deal in danger, and this one has it in spades. It’s more an exposed nerve or trauma being unfolded before us than a narrative, and it deals with a woman facing a sexual abuser and groomer fifteen years after he had violated her at twelve years old. It’s a gasp-worthy premise, and nothing is held back. The woman is conflicted in equal doses of rage, love, and utter confusion, and her captive audience, the former tormentor, is horrified at having to confront the sins of his past in the present. It’s a whirlwind of emotions, and two actors have to really just let every guard down for an hour and a half. It’s rough on them and equally rough on an audience. But BLACKBIRD is an amazingly audacious script that goes into territory few others dare to deal with. It was originally written in 2005 but still has much to say twenty years later.
Director Malinda L. Beckham has wisely put in place two actors who bring unique points of view to the piece, Kevin Daugherty and Olivia Knight. Olivia lets her character of Una go off like a bomb that explodes every ten to fifteen minutes with her incredulous presence in front of a man who took her innocence as a child. Conversely, we have Kevin Daugherty’s Ray, who is quiet and non-confrontational as much as he can manage when trapped in his work’s breakroom with a past he would like to forget. They navigate their emotional damages in a room filled with half-eaten trash from fast food meals that the folks in Ray’s company have left behind. It’s a fitting setting for a messy circumstance. Olivia turns the volume up, and then Kevin tries to turn it down, and the two create a push-pull as actors weave a drama this intense. Given their relative situations, they work together extremely well and create a chaotically complex chemistry. The acting here is top-notch. The intensity ripples off the stage into the audience for the entire run from entrance to final exit. Malinda L. Beckham is a master at handling emotional thrillers; her deft hand here doesn’t disappoint.
There is a lot to love in the physical aspects of the production as well. Mark A. Lewis works wonders with this non-descript office breakroom that has seen better days. His lighting is pretty darn neat as well, and Trevor B. Cone’s sound design is a treat, too. Malinda pulls double duty as director and Costume Designer, and the clothes work well to enhance each character. I particularly loved Una’s ensemble, which said tough and tender in equal doses. Technically, the Dirt Dogs always impress with their design work, often bringing miracles on a budget. The entire production is hard, edgy, and raw, including the pre-show music that works into the play. Everything is thought through and is in perfect concert with the two actors.
This is a wonderfully produced version of an unflinching script, which may be the hardest part of BLACKBIRD. It feels so real that the fear factor of an abuser and a victim seething at each other or, worse, being tender to them feels too real sometimes. There’s a feeling you get where you just want to shower this entire show off, but you really can’t. You feel and hear this slap in the face for days. The emotions are not necessarily coherent; it’s a jumble coming at you in several mixed ways. Una gets no closure with Ray, only more unresolved questions about what it all means in the grand scheme of both their lives. BLACKBIRD has no clarity for you; in the end, I believe that is its over-arching design. It hangs in the air, like a song without any refrain to wrap it all together. And damn it, if the Dirt Dogs don’t give it, it’s due.
BLACKBIRD is showing in MATCH’s Auditorium 1 through March 8th. It is performed in ninety minutes without an intermission. Parking is pretty easy for the facility and includes street and garage areas; just be aware of the associated pricing. Restaurants and bars are within easy walking distance, and you may well need a drink after watching Una and Ray.
Photo provided by Gary Griffin
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