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Theater

Blackbird at SpeakEasy

Gammons and Wilder and Bassham do a sterling job with the spare, half-sentence dialogue that has its roots in Pinter and Mamet, even if the rawness of the emotions and the surprise twists and turns are closer to what goes on in Neil LaBute's dramatic universe. Gammons is Boston's master of ultra-violence. He won an Elliot Norton Award for Titus Andronicus before moving on to such pleasant ditties as John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi and Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore.

I won't say whether there's any violence in Blackbird, but the way Bassham slams a door or bats Wilder's tie away attests to Gammons's ability to transfer that punch in the stomach. And in this case, you needn't be a masochist to appreciate such a well-delivered blow.