Photo Flash: Beowulf Alley Theatre Presents BLACKBIRD, 12/3 - 12/19

From the time of Adam and Eve, we have been fascinated by that which is forbidden - and nothing more so than forbidden love. David Harrower's electrifying and explosive play, BLACKBIRD, has Ray confronting his past when Una arrives unannounced at his office. Guilt and raw emotions run high as they recollect the passionate love affair they had fifteen years earlier. As tensions rise, we are left to question: When is love abuse? And can we ever break free from the shackles of the past? A hit of the Edinburgh Festival, and a critically acclaimed hit in New York and London, BLACKBIRD is a provocative, no-holds-barred drama that both chills and thrills.

"A fascinating and unnerving ninety-minute cat-and-mouse tale of revenge and sexual intrigue, with genuine theatricality and undeniable shock value." - Associated Press

Scottish playwright, David Harrower's plays include Knives in Hens; Kill the Old, Torture Their Young; Presence; and Dark Earth. BLACKBIRD was shortlisted for the Saltire Society Book of the Year Award and won the 2007 Lawrence Olivier Award for Best New Play. Laura Lippman, recently relocated to Tucson from Orlando, Florida. Recent Orlando directing credits include Rockaby and Endgame for Empty Spaces Theatre Company's Beckett Festival and movement director for Equus at Rollins College. In addition, Laura has directed and developed new plays for over a decade, including recent works such as Charm and Letters to Sala at Orlando PlayFest, The Toymaker's War for the National New Play Network Showcase, Upright Position, Destination: Reality and Transference with the Women Playwrights' Initiative and Songs My Brother Sang for the GLBT New Works Series. She also adapted and directed Euripides' Cyclops for the 2008 American Philological Association's Annual Conference in Chicago along with her husband Mike. Laura studied acting at Bennington College and The Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, Wales. She received her MFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University.

Box Office Information:
- Box office volunteers are available by phone, (520) 882-0555, Tuesday - Friday, noon to 4 p.m. and in person 45 minutes prior to each performance at the box office when the lobby doors open.
- Reservations by phone are confirmed with payment using a VISA, MC or Discover card
- All tickets are held at will call. All sales are final. Reservations are encouraged.
- Due to mature themes, no one under 17 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.
- Run time is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission

Ticket Prices and Discounts:

- Preview Performance: December 3 (Friday)
$15 At door/by phone, VISA, MC, Discover, local check, cash (Reserved Ticket)
$13 Online Discount for anyone at www.beowulfalley.org up to 3 hours before performance (Reserved Ticket)
$12 Student/Military/Senior 60+ Rush Ticket (Cash at-door, ID Proof of Status required, 15 min. before curtain, First Come-First Served, no advance reservation)

- Full Run: December 4, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
$23 At door/by phone, VISA, MC, Discover, local check, cash
$21 Online Discount for anyone at www.beowulfalley.org up to 3 hours before performance (Reserved Ticket)

- December 9, 16 (Thrifty Thursdays), 11 and 18 (Saturdays, 2nd Saturday and Parade of Lights Events, both starting at 6 p.m.)
$18 At door/by phone, VISA, MC, Discover, local check, cash or online up to 3 hours before performance at www.beowulfalley.org

- Special Discount - All Performances
$12 Student/Military/Senior 60+ Rush Ticket (Cash at-door, ID Proof of Status required, 15 min. before curtain, First Come-First Served, no advance reservation)

Parking:

Park at the secure Pennington and Scott Parkwise Garage for just $2. After 5p weekdays and all day Saturdays and Sundays, meters are free. The lot at Broadway and 6th Avenue is available for our use after 5 p on weekdays and all day Saturdays and Sundays. For a Downtown Parking Map, go to http://parkwise.tucsonaz.gov/sites/default/files/parkwise/DT%20Parking%20Map.jpg or to our website at www.beowulfalley.org.

On event nights, we suggest that you leave home early to allow for traffic and parking as there may be road closures or traffic pattern adjustments. Come early to have fun or enjoy a pre-show meal.

Beowulf Alley Theatre Company, a 501 (c)(3) organization, is committed to enriching the community and enhancing appreciation of the arts through the production of innovative, invigorating theatre and theatrical education with the highest standards for acting and production. Equal and fair treatment will be provided to all participants regardless of race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, familial status and/or marital status. Founded on the basis of dialogues with local theatre artists who wanted a permanent home to practice their craft, its intimate 95-seat theatre provides a facility that meets professional standards where performing artists, educators, and technicians can present their skills.

Because Beowulf Alley engages a talent and volunteer pool that calls Tucson "home" for its productions, the Theatre is committed to helping grow a new generation of Tucson talent with its programs including education for adults and youth, late night theatre to experiment with and gain experience, readers theatre for playwrights' unpublished works, lunchtime theatre to bring art to the workday and screenings of independent film artists. And true to its roots, the Theatre maintains ongoing dialogues with the community, including Dialogues with theatergoers after the first Sunday matinee performance of each of its main stage plays, at Readers' Theatre nights, and other presentations, providing an opportunity for theatergoers to discuss the plays with the director and artists. Writers who cover the Tucson arts scene say the Theatre provides its audiences with "the best total package"-plays, performances and productions that are high in artistic and technical quality.

Beowulf Alley has received critical acclaim, including two Mac Awards and nine MAC nominations. The company has presented over 350 performances to Tucson audiences since 2002 and has served hundreds of theatre artists. The theater also provides performance and rehearsal space for other Tucson theater companies. For more information, log on to www.beowulfalley.org. We thank the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the Tucson Pima Arts Council, the Janet S. Brunel Residuary Trust, and our business sponsors for their support.

Photo credit: Creatista/Scott Griessel