Sexual abuse involving a minor usually seems a clear case against a sick perpetrator. Playwright David Harrower boldly suggests subtleties and nuances in how such an act occurs through his disturbing one-act, "Blackbird." Manbites Dog Theater Company's staging packs plenty of wallop into its gripping 75 minutes.
The play is set in a messy company break room. Ray, one of the office workers, rushes in with Una, a woman in her 20s. He's anxious to keep their conversation and her identity private.
Ray had a sexual relationship with Una 15 years earlier, when she was 12, for which he was arrested and put in prison. Una has come to confront Ray after discovering his whereabouts through a business magazine article with Ray's photo. Una has not seen Ray since the night a botched rendezvous exposed their trysts, the authorities having separated Una from Ray throughout his subsequent trial and incarceration.
At first, the plot moves along in an expected manner. A bitter Una wants Ray to know how much she has suffered, and a fearful, defensive Ray counters that his own life also has been forever changed. But the true nature of the pair's relationship becomes clearer as they warily revisit the circumstances of their involvement.
As the two continue to reveal details about their emotions and needs at the time, easy judgments about them are precluded. Harrower keeps the twists coming right to the end, leaving the audience to decide how much of what the characters say is true and how much is manipulation.
Alessandra Colaianni makes Una fragile yet determined as she attempts to exorcise her demons, especially moving in her lengthy monologue about the night everything went awry. Jay O'Berski astutely plays all of Ray's conflicting feelings, sometimes the aggressor, sometimes the confessor.
The dialogue is tense, frank and painful. Director Michael O'Foghludha encourages his cast to bring out the script's raw emotions, the quietest moments causing the audience to hold its collective breath to catch every word. Only the opening seems forced as the actors try to make their overlapping, faltering lines sound natural.
Derrick Ivy's appropriately drab break room includes opaque windows where co-workers are seen passing (and where one surprise character appears). Andy Parks' stark lighting emphasizes the mood of each segment.
The intriguing script and the powerful production more than make up for the discomfort that "Blackbird" brings.
