|
Good theatre, a teacher of mine once told me, is dangerous, and David Harrower’s play Blackbird, currently in production at Burlington’s Tottering Biped theatre, is exactly that.
The play rests on a confrontation between Ray and Una, a man and woman who had an affair 15 years previous. He was 40. She was 12. He has been in prison. And changed his name, too, unsurprisingly.
He was careless enough to be photographed for a trade journal, celebrating the work he’s done at his new job, where his past is unknown, and now Una has tracked him down. She doesn’t seem to want revenge exactly, but the meeting is explosively dangerous, and that makes for great theatre.
Harrower is one of Britain’s premier playwrights, and in his hands, this dangerous material is meticulously balanced. No ounce of responsibility is left unfelt, and no emotional nook is left unexposed. He describes the play as “a love story about two people who have been through a life changing event together.”
Make no mistake, Ray is a child abuser – though not a repeat offender – and has done his time for the crime of interfering with a minor. He is, however, still a human being, and Harrower is unflinchingly fair to both sides of this conflict, which is the sign of a mature and sophisticated playwright, to say nothing of a compassionate human being. Being human, after all, is not an easy or simple thing, and Harrower doesn’t fall for the simplistic trap of making Ray into a monster or Una into a powerless damsel in distress. It’s a moral sword dance, and the Scottish playwright never puts a foot wrong, despite dancing very close to the some breathtakingly sharp edges.
Tottering Biped is the first group to attempt this play locally and they deserve major credit for doing so. This is ambitious material that you’d think would be more at home with the established professional companies. It takes a professional skill set to unpack all the nuances of hurt, fear, humiliation and forgiveness that this play demands.
Their online presence is notable too. totteringbidped.ca has a link to man on the street interviews produced by the theatre company where they take the question of romance and age difference to the public at large, an admirable and meaningful use of non–traditional media to broaden and enhance the theatre experience.
This production is founded on some quite considerable talent and experience. Director Richard Beaune is a seasoned veteran of 25 years, and you wouldn’t want a less steady hand here.
Douglas Beattie, director/producer of Wingfield fame, retakes the boards after many years absence challenged to embody the convicted sex offender, Ray. He carries it off with courage and dignity.
Megan Flynn connects well with the abandonment and troubled sexuality of Una, and is clearly an all around theatre artist to watch in her own right.
The setting is one of those purgatorial, fluorescent–lit factory lunch rooms, strewn with garbage (literal and metaphorical) and the Burlington Student Theatre on Prospect Street is transformed with economy and effect.
This is a harrowing production, but one well worthy of your time and money. Theatre is empty escape if it doesn’t raise important questions, and this company of local heroes intend to tackle gay marriage and terrorism as well this season. Not for the faint of heart, but richly rewarding for the brave. V
BLACKBIRD
Presented by Tottering Biped Theatre.
Through July 2.
@ Burlington Student Theatre Centre.
2131 Prospect St., Burlington.
totteringbiped.ca
|
