Blackbird

Went to see Blackbird on Thursday, produced by the Singapore Repertory Theatre.

I am not talented enough to put into words just how amazing this play is. The synopsis, from Wikipedia:

At his workplace, 55-year-old Ray is shocked to be visited by a young woman, 27-year-old Una. 15 years earlier, when Una was only 12, the two had a sexual affair, for which Ray was arrested and imprisoned. He has managed to establish a reasonably successful new life under another name, but Una recognized him in a photograph and tracked him down.

Ray takes Una to the office break room, where the two engage in a long and difficult confrontation involving Una's continuing struggles to understand and come to terms with the affair and her intensely conflicting emotions. These rocket back and forth between anger, curiosity, confusion, and even a persistent attachment to Ray, whom Una loved and believed loved her. The fearful Ray parries her demanding questions and descriptions of her feelings and experiences, all the while uncertain of her intentions.


Daniel Jenkins, whom I first saw in The Pillowman (which totally blew my mind), plays Ray. I did expect quite a bit from him, and he delivered. Emma Yong played Una; I'd never seen anything she's done, so I had no idea what I could expect from her. Her performance astounded me.

The setting was simple; the dynamic, powerful.

Some parts of the play were rather strong triggers, which brought tears to my eyes. The build up for the first hour or so was slow, leading to a rather intense and harrowing climax which left me shaken and speechless.

I love that there were only two players; we only saw two other people with a few lines each. I love the use of space - it was a simple set on a small stage. The dialogue was well-written, and well played. It was one of the few plays that truly captivated me; it took quite a few minutes for me to come back to myself after the curtains fell.

Blackbird goes on my list of favourite plays, right up there with The Pillowman and Bent.