Island Theatre to showcase ‘Blackbird’

Published 11:17 am Saturday, June 27, 2015

As part of its 20th anniversary season, a retrospective of favorite productions from past years, Island Theatre will present a staged reading of the award-winning 2007 drama “Blackbird,” written by David Harrower, at 7:30 p.m. on both Saturday, June 27, and Sunday, June 28 at Rolling Bay Hall.

Performances are free, with at-door donations welcome.

In the play, two people who once had an intense relationship meet again 15 years later.

Guilt, rage and raw emotions run high as they recollect their shared past, which landed Ray in jail and left Una psychologically crippled. Ray, after years in prison and subsequent hardships, has a new identity and has made a new life for himself. Una is haunted by the past, and on spotting a photo of Ray in a magazine, sets out to find him.

What transpires next is a series of chilling twists and turns as details of their past begin to unravel.

This intense 90-minute one-act by Scottish playwright Harrower explores, without moral judgment, the blurry line between passion and perversion, love and abuse. It was awarded the 2006 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland for Best New Play and the 2007 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play.

“Blackbird” was first performed by Theatre in 2011 at the Bainbridge Public Library.

The current production at Rolling Bay Hall is directed by Rozzella Kolbegger, and features Liam Sanchez and Lily Warpinski.

The play contains adult language and sexual themes and is recommended for adults and mature teens.

Founded on Bainbridge Island in 1994, Island Theatre’s mission is to provide quality theatre, geared toward mature audiences – onstage and in less conventional venues – through plays that challenge performers artistically while both entertaining and intellectually engaging audiences.

Its regular schedule includes bi-monthly staged play readings at the Bainbridge Public Library, potluck dinners in privately hosted homes at which guests are welcome to join in a selected play reading and the annual Island Theatre Ten-Minute Play Festival.

Learn more about Island Theatre as well as this and other scheduled performances at www.IslandTheatre.org.