David Harrower News

Recently, Yankee Magazine, in their Editors' Choice Best of New England 2014 issue, awarded the title of "Best Intimate Theatre" to Rhode Island's own Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre. The Gamm's home in Pawtucket is intimate, there's no argument about that, a perfectly sized and perfectly utilized theatrical space. Proximity with the audience can at times be a risky bet, a chance for a company to live or die by the sword of theater that is very up close and personal. In the case of the Gamm, it is a bet they always win. Just one example is this season's final play, Blackbird, which again showcases how the space's intimacy can and does make great theater even more powerful and impactful.

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre presents Blackbird by David Harrower and directed by Tony Estrella. It stars Madeleine Lambert and Jim O'Brien and runs from May 1 to June 1. Tickets are available here. Scottish playwright David Harrower's most acclaimed and most controversial play, Blackbird 'is theater at its most elemental,' says The New York Times. In a littered factory break room, 55-year-old Ray and 27-year-old Una engage in a confrontation so real and raw that you feel you should look away. But how can you? Fifteen years earlier, the two had a sexual affair...when she was 12. Ray has assumed a new identity and a new life following his imprisonment, while Una has not stopped searching for answers to her conflicting emotions. What emerges from the recriminations and explanations is a complex relationship that blurs the boundaries between love and lust, obsession and abuse. Uncompromising, shocking and surprisingly tender, Blackbirdwill leave you hanging on every word and every uncomfortable silence. For mature audiences only.

Having delighted and frightened audiences across the country from Bath to Glasgow with its darkly comic and thrilling storyline, Peter James' best-selling novel, The Perfect Murder is set for an extended run starring Robert Daws and Dawn Steele. Following nation-wide critical and audience acclaim, the autumn run of The Perfect Murder also sees the return of Gray O'Brien and opens at the Canterbury Marlowe on September 2nd 2014.

Theatre Exile closes its 17th season with the Philadelphia premiere of Annapurna, a moving and explosive new play by critically acclaimed, emerging Broadway playwright Sharr White. Driven by the emotionally charged relationship between a husband and wife, Exile's production stars Barrymore Award-winning actors Pearce Bunting (Exile's A Behanding in Spokane, HBO's Boardwalk Empire) and Catharine Slusar (Iron, Any Given Monday) as Ulysses and Emma. Performances run today, April 17 - May 11 in Theatre Exile's South Philadelphia Studio X.

Traverse Theatre Company will be in New York this April, taking Fringe 2013 hits A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity and Clean for a month-long run at 59E59 Theaters, marking New York's Scotland Week (today 3 - 10 April) as part of 59E59 Theaters' Brits Off Broadway season.

Two-time Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Susan Sullivan (Castle, Dharma & Greg, Falcon Crest) and David Selby (Dark Shadows, Falcon Crest) head the cast when Robin Larsen directs A Delicate Balance by Edward Albee, opening April 26 at the Odyssey Theatre.

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm) closes Season 29 with the Rhode Island premiere of Blackbird, Scottish playwright David Harrower's shocking drama that captivates audiences and leaves them breathless. Gamm Artistic Director Tony Estrella directs Madeleine Lambert (Anne Boleyn in Anne Boleyn) and Gamm Resident Actor Jim O'Brien (Salter in A Number, Thomas Cromwell in Anne Boleyn) in the discomfiting story of a tormented young woman who confronts a traumatic relationship from her childhood. Blackbird runs from May 1-June 1 at The Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket, RI.

Magic Theatre will welcome back one of Scotland's leading contemporary playwrights, Linda McLean, with the world premiere of Every Five Minutes, directed by Producing Artistic Director Loretta Greco. Every Five Minutes runs today, March 26 - April 20.

Magic Theatre will welcome back one of Scotland's leading contemporary playwrights, Linda McLean, with the world premiere of Every Five Minutes, directed by Producing Artistic Director Loretta Greco. Every Five Minutes runs March 26 - April 20. Deemed 'a gritty, fiercely empathetic realist of great skill' (San Francisco Chronicle), McLean's new play celebrates the miraculous power of the human spirit. Every Five Minutes begins with a simple homecoming dinner that takes a fantastical turn as Mo slips into a dreamscape that even those closest to him can't imagine.

Theatre Exile closes its 17th season with the Philadelphia premiere of Annapurna, a moving and explosive new play by critically acclaimed, emerging Broadway playwright Sharr White. Driven by the emotionally charged relationship between a husband and wife, Exile's production stars Barrymore Award-winning actors Pearce Bunting (Exile's A Behanding in Spokane, HBO's Boardwalk Empire) and Catharine Slusar (Iron, Any Given Monday) as Ulysses and Emma. Performances run April 17 - May 11 in Theatre Exile's South Philadelphia Studio X.

Traverse Theatre Company will be in New York this April, taking Fringe 2013 hits A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity and Clean for a month-long run at 59E59 Theaters, marking New York's Scotland Week (3 - 10 April) as part of 59E59 Theaters' Brits Off Broadway season.

James I, James II and James III - are a new cycle of history plays by award-winning playwright Rona Munro and directed by Laurie Sansom, Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Scotland, which are to be presented in an unprecedented co-production by the National Theatre of Scotland, Edinburgh International Festival and the National Theatre of Great Britain, during the Edinburgh International Festival in August and at the National Theatre in London from September to October.

Preston Copley, formerly of Disney Theatrical Group, where he served directly under President Thomas Schumacher on the gamut of the commercial producer's Global productions, has joined Jean Doumanian Productions as Director of Creative Development for Theater, working alongside Jean Doumanian, and Vice President, Patrick Daly. In his new position, Copley will be identifying existing work and developing new theatrical content for commercial productions on and off-Broadway, and for audiences abroad.

Williamstown Theatre Festival has named Mandy Greenfield as its new Artistic Director, the Festival's Board Chair Matt Harris announced today. Greenfield, who is currently Artistic Producer at Manhattan Theatre Club, succeeds Jenny Gersten beginning September 2014. As previously announced, Gersten departs Williamstown Theatre Festival in January 2014 to become Executive Director of Friends of the Highline. Gersten will program the upcoming 2014 season, and Williamstown Theatre Festival Producer Stephen Kaus will oversee the season. Greenfield's tenure as Artistic Director will begin immediately following the 2014 season, the Festival's 60th.

Ciara, the award-winning monologue written by acclaimed playwright David Harrower (Blackbird, Knives in Hens), especially for one of Scotland's finest actresses Blythe Duff, is to be revived this Christmas. After capturing audiences' imaginations and winning Fringe Firstand Herald Angel Awards during its sell-out Festival run, the play has been chosen as the swansong for the Traverse's 50th anniversary year.

LAS CANCIONES -- DOMINGOS 6,13 Y 20 DE OCTUBRE; DOMINGOS 10, 17 Y 24 DE NOVIEMBRE.

Shattered Globe Theatre is pleased to kick-off its 2013-14 season with OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY by Jerry Sterner, directed by Dennis Zacek, playing September 5 - October 19, 2013 in its new artistic home as a resident theatre company at Chicago's Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago.

LAS CANCIONES -- DOMINGOS 6,13 Y 20 DE OCTUBRE; DOMINGOS 10, 17 Y 24 DE NOVIEMBRE.

LA Drama Critics Circle Award-winning California Repertory Company and the CSULB Theatre Arts Department are proud to announce our 2013 - 2014 Season, at the Royal Theater aboard the Queen Mary and the CSULB Theatre Arts Building, which runs September 20, 2013 - May 10, 2014.

The Traverse announces its Autumn season today, presenting a canon of world-class theatre to bring its 50th anniversary year to a close. The theatre welcomes back David Harrower's multi-award-winning 2013 Festival hit play, Ciara, directed by Traverse Artistic Director Orla O'Loughlin. The new writing festival Write Here will showcase the work of the Traverse Fifty, who have been on attachment this year.