THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE: THE INESCAPABLE REALITY OF TRAUMA IN DAVID HARROWER’S BLACKBIRD

In Blackbird, David Harrower’s unconventional play which displays a battle of minds and emotions, traumatic memories begin to surface as the characters delve into a painful dissection of the events that left them mentally scarred. This paper analyses the traumatic situation seen from a shifting point of view, as traumatic memories are not rendered in a unilinear fashion and there is a constant alternation between the present and the past, so as to examine the way it is communicated and the impact it has on the individual identity. The play dramatizes Una’s journey of self-discovery, as she struggles to find out the truth about the traumatic experience she underwent during childhood. I argue that trauma produces profound alterations in the self and relationships and the resultant neurosis is externalized as an interpersonal conflict. Therefore, the traumatized individual battles with issues of self- regulation and the fixation on the trauma produces an alienating sense of inadequacy.