Directed by Tara Brown, the production brings together a cast that includes Melina Farahani and Miguel Perez.
Diaspora House will present a limited engagement of Blackbird, David Harrower’s searing psychological drama, running for eight performances only, December 2 through December 7, 2025 at NYC’s Theatre Row. Just prior to its NYC run, Blackbird will play three performances at The Industry Loft, an immersive venue in Los Angeles, CA. Those performances will take place November 21, 22, 23, 2025 at 8 PM. Directed by Tara Brown, the production brings together a powerhouse cast, including Melina Farahani and Miguel Perez.
Diaspora House has partnered with leading non-profit organizations dedicated to addressing sexual abuse, domestic violence, and sex trafficking to host a series of post-show talkbacks and Q&A sessions, with details to be announced soon.
A grown man knows what he’s doing. A young girl believes she knows love. Blackbird forces us to face what lies between them. This new staging of Blackbird examines the play through a contemporary lens—foregrounding questions of identity, trauma, and power dynamics in the modern world. If the past comes knocking at your door, what will it say? Ray has a new identity, a new life, and is trying to put the past behind him, una thinks of nothing else. When Una arrives at Ray's new office unannounced, raw emotions run high as they reexamine the relationship they had in the past. Never able to reconcile the brutal truth, Una is looking for answers, and the consequences are shattering.
A haunting exploration of memory, guilt, and the long shadows cast by formative experiences, Blackbird won the Laurence Olivier Award for “Best New Play” in 2007. For its 2016 Broadway run, Blackbird received three Tony Award nominations, including “Best Play” and performance nominations for stars Jeff Daniels and Michelle Williams.
Melina Farahani is a British/Persian award-winning actress. She has led productions in both London and LA, voices a magical princess in Netflix's “the 7 Bears” and appeared in the critically acclaimed short, James the Second. She earned three award nominations for her one-woman show at the Hollywood Fringe and is now starring in a gripping new film with Slick Films’ Oscar-winning production company.
Miguel Perez’s career spans film, television, and theater, with credits alongside Johnny Depp, Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, and Hilary Swank. On television, he’s appeared in “ER,” “Seinfeld,” “The Good Wife,” “NCIS,” and “CSI.” On stage, he has performed with theater greats including Mark Rylance, Sir Patrick Stewart, Kevin Kline, and George C. Wolfe.
Performances of Blackbird will take place Tuesday, December 2, through Saturday, December 6, 2025, at 7 PM with matinee performances on Wednesday, December 3, and Sunday, December 7, 2025, at 2:30 PM.