REVIEW: Black Crows by Linda Brogan

Black Crows at the Arcola Theatre, March 7-24, by Laura Crowley.

Black Crows is a bleak play about facing poverty and deprivation in 1970s Manchester, and uses some unusual techniques. For a start, the son of the family doesn’t have a name. Oh, and he’s also a puppet. But thanks to the skill of puppeteer Susan Beattie, his acting is far from wooden.
“You’ll end up like some black crows with your life in tatters”, Queenie warns her son. “Get a job.”
As a poorly educated 16-year-old, work seems an unlikely prospect for the son, leading him to find a sugar mummy. At the same time, he falls in love with teenager Hazel, and a dangerous love triangle ensues.
Although it is a little disconcerting to see the women cuddle up to the marionette in bed, Beattie’s skill is awe-inspiring. The characterisation is surprisingly powerful and the realistic movements are mesmerising, creating a believable yet magical persona. The puppet captivates both the audience and the female characters in a way a live actor could not.
Using the undecorated, simple wooden puppet allows the audience to create their own image of the boy, free from any prejudices of “hoodies” and gang members often formed on sight. However, this extraordinary twist entirely shifts the spotlight onto the boy, when the female roles should be equally as important to the theme.
The performances by the three women are superbly intense, transporting the audience into a dark world of love, jealousy and a fight for survival.
The theatre company, Clean Break, runs an arts-based education programme for women with experience of the criminal justice system, and commissions only female playwrights.
Sat amongst a mainly female audience with only a few anxious men accompanying their girlfriends, I was therefore preparing myself for a strongly feminist piece. Instead, I found myself frustrated and suffocated by the women’s weaknesses and their blind devotion to the boy. The puppet ironically becomes the puppet master.