Blackbird

I attended Blak Yak Theatre's production of "Blackbird" last night at Subiaco Arts Centre. Very delicate subject matter - a 40 year old man's carnal relations with a 12 yr old girl. Delicate indeed, but delicately and deftly guided by Director Dean Schulze Perhaps everybody's gut reaction to this concept includes words like "disgusting, pervert, predatory low-life", but I found Eliot McCann's wonderfully sensitive portrayal of the perpetrator caused me to feel a surprising degree of sympathy for the character. In the aftermath of their brief dalliance, he had suffered effectively as much as his victim. Said victim was also excellently played by Laura Vertigan. The programme indicates she is a fairly new import to Perth from Albany. We'll be seeing more of her for sure. The show plays tonight, and December 3, 4 and 5 at 8pm. 90 minutes of moral and emotional roller-coaster, which I considered $19 very well spent.