Bare Stage Theatre produced the play “Blood Relations” by Sharon Pollock on October 24, 25 and 26. Directed by Roxanne Rosenblatt, the subject of the play is the well-known story of Lizzie Borden.
In 1892, she was accused (and later acquitted) of killing her father and stepmother with an axe. No other person was ever held accountable for the crimes and speculation haunted Lizzie throughout her lifetime, and continues to this day.
The play takes place ten years after the murder. We find Lizzie (Darlene Sherwood) meeting with an Actress (Lisa Safran) who will portray her in a stage play. The two have a close, perhaps romantic, relationship, much to the chagrin of Lizzie’s sister Emma (Pam Landon). Lizzie tells The Actress how the question of her guilt or innocence has plagued her and her memories of the time of the murders are played out on stage. During Lizzie’s memory scenes, she (Lizzie) is portrayed by The Actress and the actor who plays the current-day Lizzie acts instead as the housemate Bridget. The theatrical purpose of this role-switching is largely overshadowed by the unnecessary confusion in the plot that it causes.
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