Blackberry Winter presented by Forum Theatre at Silver Spring Black Box Theater

Blackberry Winter

Silver Spring Black Box Theater
8641 Colesville Road Silver Spring

A NATIONAL NEW PLAY NETWORK Rolling World Premiere starring Holly Twyford. Years of success, meticulous planning, and an eye for detail have in no way prepared Vivienne Avery for her mother's slide into the grip of dementia. Initially hiding behind insomnia-fueled baking and a polite smile, stories about her mother leave Vivienne's inner turmoil quietly laid bare in a juxtaposition of stories, theatrical gestures, and a childlike Alzheimer's "creation myth."

Presented by Forum Theatre

Thru - Jun 11, 2016

Wednesdays: 8:00pm

Thursdays: 8:00pm

Fridays: 8:00pm

Saturdays: 8:00pm

Sundays: 2:00pm

Price: $30 - $35

Box Office: 240-644-1100

Running Time: 1hr, 30mins; no intermission

www.forum-theatre.org/blackberry-winter

Blackberry Winter Reviews

Average Rating based on 6 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Washington Post - Highly Recommended

"...A drama about Alzheimer’s may not be something you’re eager to see, especially if you know anyone struggling with dementia. Steve Yockey’s new play, “Blackberry Winter,” doesn’t sugarcoat the situation, but it effectively humanizes what the disease can be like for patients and their loved ones. At Forum Theatre, this 90-minute play — practically a monologue — is being performed with an almost healing human touch by Holly Twyford."

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- Nelson Pressley

DC Theater Arts - Highly Recommended

"...Forum Theater's Blackberry Winter is a production to savor. Most of all, one gets to know, up close and personal, a brilliantly written Vivienne Avery, phenomenally performed by Holly Twyford, whose ultimately courageous memorial to her mother's dimming memory makes us mindful of both the mind's fragility and the mind's resilience."

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- John Stoltenberg

MD Theatre Guide - Highly Recommended

"...The final production in Forum Theatre’s twelfth season, Blackberry Winter by Steve Yockey, forms part of the National New Play Network’s flagship initiative of Rolling World Premieres. As such, the play will receive seven productions in eight theatres across the country, a record number for the initiative. Forum Theatre’s current production, however, will be difficult to top, and is difficult to fault. In the assured directorial hands of Forum’s own Producing Artistic Director, Michael Dove, Blackberry Winter is both vivid and detailed. The story follows a mother’s slip into the grip of dementia, told from the perspective of her daughter, Vivienne, whose memories are brought forth, and embodied in a handful of disparate personal items dotted around the space."

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- Chris Williams

Theatre Bloom - Highly Recommended

"...Memories are the tiniest, most fragile of things, and this is a show that will quickly etch itself into the memory of theatergoers across the DC area. A true emotional masterpiece with exceptional talent to support its premise, Blackberry Winter is an inspiring and captivating story that speaks directly to the heart."

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- Amanda Gunther

DCTheatreScene - Somewhat Recommended

"...Even Twyford's formidable acting chops cannot entirely make up for the fanciful "creation myth" Vivienne cooks up to enable her to find the meaning behind Alzheimer's. Using whimsical animated projections of woodland creatures and the charms of actors Ahmad Kamal and Sara Dabney Tisdale, Vivienne's creation myth is a treacly mix of storybook rhymes, repetition and awkward allegory. Vivienne is better sticking to baking."

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- Jayne Blanchard

BroadwayWorld - Highly Recommended

"...If I said before that four-time Helen Hayes Award winner Holly Twyford can do anything, her turn at Forum Theatre as a daughter dealing with her mother's life with Alzheimer's Disease in Steve Yockey's BLACKBERRY WINTER, is further evidence of my opinion. Simply put, she gives one of the most honest and well-rounded performances that I've seen on the DC stage this season in this compelling rolling world premiere."

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- Jennifer Perry

Blackberry Winter Photo Gallery

Blackberry Winter presented by Forum Theatre at Silver Spring Black Box Theater