The Blue Mountains City Council refers to its local government area as ‘the City of the Arts’. The region, on Sydney’s doorstep, is certainly home to many visual artists, writers, photographers, actors and assorted creatives.
Still, it was a revelation to experience theatre of the highest quality in a venue such as the Wentworth Falls School of Arts – but that’s what local theatre company Four Shadows Productions achieved with its latest work, a staging of David Harrower’s Blackbird.
First performed at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2005, this intense drama’s plot revolves around Una (Ashleigh Hermann) and Ray (Daniel Mitchell).
Una, a young woman, arrives at the workplace of Ray, an older man, to confront him about something that’s happened in their past. Ray clearly doesn’t want Una there. He seems horrified at her arrival out of the blue and anxious for her to leave the messy office lunchroom in which they’re ensconced.
It transpires that the pair haven’t had contact for 15 years and Una has tracked Ray down after seeing his photo in a magazine.
The horrifying truth – that Ray sexually abused Una when she was just 12 years old – soon emerges.
In the intervening years, Ray was charged, sent to prison, released and now has a new identity.
Full of anger and hurt, a grown-up Una wants an explanation – an understanding of how and why Ray did what he did – and perhaps revenge.
So begins a gripping push-and-pull between the pair. A full-throttle duologue of revelations, justifications and recriminations.
It made for uncomfortable but riveting viewing, highlighting Hermann and Mitchell’s serious acting chops.
When Ray protested that he had done his time, so convincing was Mitchell’s delivery that you almost found yourself feeling sorry for the man, despite his unforgivable crime.
When Una responded: ‘I did the sentence … I lost more than you ever did’ and recounted the many and varied ways she had been affected by his crime, the effect was deeply distressing.
So engrossing were the performances that only at the end of the show did one realise the entire play had taken place in one long act – in fact, virtually one long scene.
In the wrong hands, this production could easily go off the rails. It could be overwrought, contrived, even ridiculous.
Under director Paulina Kelly, this was a compelling work exploring the devastating power of trauma and guilt. It was no walk in the park, but this reviewer came way glad to have seen it.
Read: Opera review: The Turn of the Screw, Hayes Theatre
Blackbird augured well for the fledgling Four Shadows Productions. If the quality of this production is any indication, the company has a very bright future.
Blackbird by David Harrower
Wentworth Falls School of Arts, Wentworth Falls NSW
Produced by Four Shadows Productions
Director: Paulina Kelly
Production/Set Manager: Ian Batty
Front of House/Executive Coordinator: Nette Batty
Stage Manager: Ria Koppen
Lighting Design: David Hobbs
Cast: Ashleigh Hermann, Daniel Mitchell, Charlotte Scott
Blackbird was performed from 28 August to 1 September 2024.
