818 South 2nd Street •
Minneapolis, MN 55415 •
Box Office: 612.377.2224
Show: Blackbird
Posted on Nov 09, 2008 at 5:32 p.m. by LeeH
Fine acting, intelligent staging power 'Blackbird'
by Renee Valois, Pioneer Press
We hear heavy breathing in the darkness before "Blackbird" begins — suggesting a sex act — but when the lights go up, we see a young woman practically hyperventilating with stress as she stares at a man in his 50s.
When Pillsbury House Theatre's show at the Guthrie opens, Una and Ray have just met again after 15 long years. The litter-strewn tabletop and floor of the stark, industrial lunchroom where they confront each other suggest the state of their messed-up lives. There is a sense of isolation and loneliness in the bare fold-up table and chairs, the metal shelving and harsh overhead fluorescent lighting from set designer Joseph Stanley.