Blackbird, The Marlborough Theatre, Brighton, April 7 (From The Argus)

Blackbird, The Marlborough Theatre, Brighton, April 7

11:11am Monday 11th April 2011 in Stage Reviews By Al Horner

The Scottish playwright David Harrower’s drama writhes in award-winning, unrelenting emotion along with taut suspense.

The 70-minute show probes the nature of love and lust through the contentious topic of paedophilia and is compelling throughout.

Una (Marielle Cottee), aged 27, and the 55-year-old Ray (Stuart Smithers) revive the trauma of their cataclysmic affair 15 years earlier when Una ambushs Ray at work.

They reflect on their illegal tryst through a series of heated exchanges and painful reminiscences.

The narrative’s skeleton and characterisation might be indebted to Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita but there is enough invention in Harrower’s dialogue and Dawn Smithers’ direction to set this production apart.

The play benefits from an austere set placed amongst the audience rather than on stage. This innovative design and stark lighting create an unflinching intimacy that compels the audience to confront the dark and difficult subject matter.

The two actors inhabit their characters with an unerring fortitude. Cottee turns in an impressive performance as unhinged Una while Smithers successfully manages to elicit sympathy for Ray.

Bold and brave, Blackbird is an intense but richly rewarding experience.