He was 40. She was 12. Now, rapist and survivor meet again — 15 years later — in this intense drama

Now, after he’s served his time in the can and started a new life as a white-collar worker, Una unexpectedly shows up at Ray’s office to confront her abuser. But what she’s seeking isn’t initially clear. Answers? Closure? Revenge? Maybe all of the above. 

When “Blackbird” premiered on Broadway in 2016, in a production starring Jeff Daniels and Michelle Williams, it ran at a venue that seated more than 1,000 patrons. 

At Talk Is Free Theatre’s site-specific revival, however, it unfolds in a space that holds fewer than 20 chairs, packed tightly together on the second floor of a church in Toronto’s East Danforth neighbourhood.

What happens when you bottle this play in such tight confines? It explodes. 

That’s ultimately a good and a bad thing when it comes to director Dean Deffett’s production. Because “Blackbird” is a drama that cooks in a crucible. 

When the show simmers, as it does for much of its first half, the space’s intimacy works in its favour. We’re right in there with Una and Ray. We see every flinch of her eyes, how her gaze skirts around the room. We see his body tremble in horror and his arms waft at his side, unsure of where to go. 

But when Harrower’s narrative grows to a vigorous boil, its matter spewing this way and that, this production becomes too big for its venue, with certain scenes (especially toward the end) coming off as overdirected. 

Lane and Russelle, however, deliver an illuminating pair of performances. The latter, in particular, offers a harrowing glimpse of her character’s trauma — the ebb and flow of her hatred toward Ray and also toward herself. 

Thankfully, “Blackbird” ends on a far quieter note than its grating climax. Deffett’s production settles back into its venue, as well. And at its close, we’re left with a haunting and devastating image.