Blackbird Aitor Bori Ibáñez Grupo
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By: David Harrower
Author's Bibliography:
David Harrower was born in Edinburg (Scotland) in 1966. Nowadays he lives in Glasgow.
Knives in Hens was his first play performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in 1995. In
1988 he wrote his second work, Kill the old, torture their young which was awarded. Then
he wrote Presence which was performed at Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs in
2001; Dark Earth which was performed at Traverse Theatre in 2003 and one of the most
important Blackbird which was premiered at the 2005 Edinburg Festival. He has also made
versions of Six characters in search of an author of Luigi Pirandello at the Young Vic
Theatre in 2000; Ivanov from Anton Chejov at National Theatre in 2002 and Woyzeck of
Georg Büchner at Edinburgh Lyceum in 2002. Besides, he brought out to scene The
Chrysalids adapted from the novel by John Wyndham for a project from National Theatre's
Connections in 1999. He made a version of Tales from the Vienna Woods from Odon von
Horvath for the National Theatre in 2003. He translated The Girl on the Sofa from Jon
Fosse in 2002. He wrote Blackbird while he was in the Edinburgh International Festival
Creative Fellow 2004 and it was presented in 2005. David Harrover is a playwright of the
present-day. In fact, it is considered that his plays belong to a type of dramaturgy of the
90s called “in-yer-face theatre”. It is created by young playwrights and it aims to implicate
the audience and even impact it by dealing with controversial even sensitive issues.
Summary:
At his workplace, 55-year-old Ray is shocked to be visited by a young 27-year-old woman
called Una. Fifteen years earlier, they had a sexual meeting (she was an under the
minimum age), for which Ray was arrested and imprisoned . After that, he tried to build a
new life away from her. He changes his name into Peter in order to seem another person.
Moreover, but Una recognized him in a photograph of a business magazine and tracked
him down. Ray takes her to the restroom at the office, where both engage in a long
argument in which Una wants to make clear her feelings about him and come to terms with
the affair and her intensely conflicting emotions. Ray asks her for her feelings and
intentions, because we know that he is not sure about what she wants to do. Finally, Ray's
daughter comes in asking for him. He wants to, but he ends up saying that she mustn't
stay there.
