Broadway Theater Review: Blackbird

A Black, Dark, Uncomfortable Visit to the World of Child Abuse

By Lauren Yarger
Jeff Daniels and Director Joe Mantello resume their roles in the Broadway production of David Harrower’s dark and disturbing play Blackbird, an uncomfortable visit to the world of child abuse and its horrifying effects.

Michelle Williams, known mostly for film and TV roles, who starred in the recent Broadway revival of Cabaret plays Una, a woman who confronts her abuser 15 years later. She sees Ray in a photo and tracks him down.

Ray (Daniels) isn’t happy to find Una at his work place (an office break room designed by Scott Pask provides the setting). He changed his name, has a good job and has been getting along with a normal life following his three years in prison for having sexual relations with Una when she was 12. He’s even got a serious girlfriend now and things couldn't be better. So why has Una shown up to stir things up now? (The play’s title, while certainly a metaphor for any number of bad things associated with black birds, literally also is a term used by the British as we use the word “jailbird.”)

Una, it’s painfully obvious, hasn’t been doing too well in the interim since the trial.. She is wounded, mentally, and has come to confront Ray about what he did. In many ways, she still seems childlike, as though she hasn’t been able to get beyond the experience. She insists that they need to talk about what happened.

As the conversation unfolds, we discover that not all is as it seems and the relationship between the man and the little girl who idolized him is far more complicated than we can imagine. The drama is intense and we become increasingly uncomfortable as they reveal the extent of their feelings about what happened and why it happened. Our sympathies change several times as Harrower drives us over some twists in the plot road – made all the more frightening by the fact that the play is inspired by a true story.

In the end, we’re distressed by being in the same room with these two tortured, destructive souls, but we find ourselves strapped to our seats in this emotional rollercoaster by the gripping psychological dialogue. Daniels' performance is intense and his angst is palpable. We’re never sure we can trust Ray or believe that he has changed. Is he a creepy pedophile or a guy who just made some really poor choices? An unexpected development makes the answer even harder.

Williams seems more awkward wrapping around her role, encountering difficulty in trying to juggle the balance between being a survivor and a willing victim; between being an innocent and a smart manipulator.

The 90-minute trip into darkness premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival before moving on to London’s West End where it won the Olivier Award for Best New Play in a production. Later Daniels starred opposite Allison Pill in an Off-Broadway production of the play helmed by Mantello.

Blackbird circles at the Belasco Theatre, 111 West 44th St., NYC through June 11. Performance times vary. Tickets are $39-$145: 800-432-7250; blackbirdbroadway.com; (212) 239-6200.

More information:

Additional credits:

Costume Design by Ann Roth, Lighting Design by Brian MacDevitt, Sound Design by Fitz Patton.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY FACTORS:

-- Language

-- God's name taken in vain

-- Sexual activity

-- Explicitly sexual dialogue