Rogue Machine brings David Harrower's Blackbird to Los Angeles

Multi-award winning Rogue Machine brings David Harrower's critically acclaimed play Blackbird to Los Angeles for the first time. The company's recently extended run of Small Engine Repair (CRITIC'S CHOICE-LA Times; GO- LA Weekly, CRITIC'S PICK-Backstage, Ovation RECOMMENDED) will run simultaneously with this production, in Rogue Machine's larger space at Theatre Theater, during the first few weeks in June.

This powerful piece begins when Una shows up unexpectedly at the office of Ray, forcing him to come to terms with the effects of their relationship. Una pulls Ray into an encounter that is gripping, surprising and utterly unforgettable.

DAVID HARROWER (Playwright) was born in Edinburgh, where his plays Knives in Hen, Dark Earth, and Kill the Old Torture Their Young were produced at the Traverse Theatre. His long relationship with London's National Theatre includes writing a new version of Odon von Horvath's Tales from the Vienna Woods and Chekhov's Ivanov, as well as The Chrysalids, which he adapted from John Wyndham's novel. Presence, David's third original play, was first performed at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, and his adaptation of Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author was first staged at the Young Vic in London. Subsequent adaptations include Schiller's Mary Stuart and a new translation of Brecht's The Good Soul of Szechuan (2008), and Buchner's Woyzeck, performed at the Edinburgh Lyceum. His work 365 was presented at the Edinburgh International Festival before being produced at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. Blackbird was produced by the Edinburgh International Festival, directed by Peter Stein and transferred in February 2006 to the Albery Theatre in London's West End. In the spring of 2007 the play received simultaneous American premieres by the Manhattan Theater Club and American Conservatory Theatre.

ROBIN LARSEN (Director) is a multi-award winner, recognized particularly in Los Angeles for helming critically acclaimed productions such as the (LA Times Critics Pick, and Ovation Recommended) World Premiere of Pursued By Happiness by Keith Huff (Broadway's A Steady Rain), currently at The Road Theatre Company. At Rogue Machine, Robin directed Joel Drake Johnson's Four Places, one of the most lauded plays of the 2010 Los Angeles theatre season, winning the Ovation, the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Award and the Garland Award for Best Production. Robin's cast won two LADCC Awards (Best Lead Performance, Best Ensemble), two Garlands (Performance, Ensemble), and three Ovation noms (two Best Lead Actress, and Best Supporting Actress). Robin's directing was singled out with a Garland Award and an Ovation nomination. Her recent work at the Black Dahlia Theatre garnered them attention as "one of a dozen young American companies you need to know" by American Theater Magazine. At the Black Dahlia, Robin directed one of the most acclaimed productions the 2007 Los Angeles theater season, the West Coast Premiere of Karoline Leach's Tryst (extended four times). Her production was nominated for 5 Ovation Awards and won two Garland Awards, including Best Director. In the Dahlia's 2004 Los Angeles Drama Critic Circle Award winning season, Robin directed the Los Angeles Premiere of David Schulner's An Infinite Ache, a Critic's Pick by the Los Angeles Times, the LA Weekly and Backstage, it appeared on five critics' "Best of 2004" lists, and collected twelve Los Angeles Press awards and nominations, including awards for Best Direction and Production of the Year. Her first short film, Sombra, won the Student Academy Award, garnered the Kodak Emerging Filmmaker Award, and screened at the Cannes International Film Festival. Robin's next film Out of Habit won a Director's Guild Film Award, the Princess Grace Award, and numerous 'Best Short' awards. Her latest short film No. 6 (starring Ron Perlman, Charlotte Ayanna, and Brian Baumgartner) won Best Short at the Sonoma Film Festival and was nominated for Best Short at Method Fest and the USA Film Festival, as well as being screened at the Bilbao, and Munich International Festivals, and Short Cuts Cologne. Robin's screenwriting credits include the recent Women Project, for Imagine/Universal, which is set to star Diane Keaton, Catherine O'Hara, Tracey Ullman, and Rita Wilson.

BLACKBIRD opens Friday, June 10th at 8pm (previews June 5-9) and runs 8pm Fridays, 5pm Saturdays and Sundays through June 19th when the schedule changes to 5pm Saturdays and Sundays, and 8pm on Mondays through July 24th (no performance July 4th or July 18th). ROGUE MACHINE is located at 5041 W. Pico Blvd., LA, CA 90019. Tickets are $25-$30. Reservations: 855-585-5185 or at www.roguemachinetheatre.com