Blackbird

By David Harrower

Photos by David Colclasure

Credits

Blackbird
By David Harrower
Rogue Machine Theatre

Starring: Sam Anderson, Corryn Cummins

Set: Stephanie Kerley Schwartz; Costumes: Jocelyn Hublau-Parker; Lights: Leigh Allen; Sound: Christopher Moscatiello

Reviews

LA Times:
I had seen Blackbird, David Harrower’s disquieting two-hander about a young woman who confronts the man who sexually abused her as a girl, at Manhattan Theatre Club in a production starring Jeff Daniels and Alison Pill. But nothing prepared me for the scalding intensity of Robin Larsen’s 2011 staging of the play at Rogue Machine Theatre. The production (starring the perfectly matched Corryn Cummins and Sam Anderson) cannily exploited the pressure-cooker-like dimensions of this pocket venue.

LA Times:
“Critic’s Choice: Directed with remarkable concentration by Robin Larsen… These aren’t post-Pinteresque figures any longer but tumultuously unresolved human beings — an interpretation that works extremely well in a space so intimate the actors have nowhere to hide.

LA Weekly:
Among the reasons Blackbird can straddle that thin thread between self-parody and love story is the quality of the performances, under Robin Larsen’s straight-on staging.

Backstage:
“Robin Larsen directs with a fine eye for detail and the careful unraveling of emotional ambiguities.”

Stage and Cinema:
“A compelling and disturbingly stark production… Robin Larsen, who has directed with a combination of clinical detachment and deep compassion, brings to every facet of the work a searing humanity and a quietly powerful urgency.

Honors

Los Angeles Times “Decade of Brilliant Theatre”
Los Angeles Times “Best of Theatre 2011”
LA Weekly “Top Ten LA Theater Experiences of 2011”
KCRW Opening the Curtain “Best of 2011”
Huffington Post “2011 Top Los Angeles Theatre Productions”
LA Stage Times “Highlights of 2011 in LA Theater”
Bitter Lemons “Top Rated Shows of 2011”

2011 Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Circle Award Nomination:
Production

2011 Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Circle Award:
Lead Performance, Sam Anderson

2011 LA Weekly Theatre Award Nominations:
Production of the Year
Direction, Robin Larsen

2011 LA Weekly Theatre Awards:
Two-Person Performance
Set Design, Stephanie Kerley Schwartz

Los Angeles Times Critic’s Choice
Backstage West Critic’s Pick
LA Weekly GO
Ovation Recommended Production


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