'riveting, shattering, brilliant'

With the new theatre season upon us, Masquerade’s latest production is guaranteed to get audiences thinking. David Harrower’s critically acclaimed Olivier Award-winning play Blackbird is a play that takes audiences into the darker side of human relationships. Following this tragic romance of two broken individuals, one is left to ask, “When is love abused?”

Blackbird is one of the most powerful dramas ever seen in the West End. Hard-hitting and challenging, this is a play which provokes discussion and destroys preconceptions. Blackbird is an explosive play which originally premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2005, prior to seasons in the West End and off Broadway.

This local production of Blackbird is directed by theatre mainstay, Anthony Bezzina. The script is very demanding, and is handled well by theatre veteran Manuel Cauchi and the up and coming Elektra Anastasi. Cauchi plays Ray, a middle-aged man trying to build a normal life with a new name and a new identity after spending time in prison. He is confronted by his past when Una (Anastasi) arrives unannounced at his office after tracking him down with a simple photograph. Emotions ignite and old wounds are reopened as the pair recollects their illicit affair fifteen years earlier.

Blackbird will be performed at St. James Cavalier in Valletta on November 21-23, 28-30 and December 5-7. Tickets at e15.00 are available from St James Cavalier. Call 2122-3200 or email [email protected]. More information can be obtained through www.masquerademalta.com. Warning: This play is restricted to audiences 18 years and over.

MASQUERADE is supported by BANK OF VALLETTA, TRAVELEX FINANCIAL SERVICES, PORTOMASO, MALTA TODAY and SHOWMIX.